Page 165 - GHES-3-1

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Affect heuristics in substance use

Ryzin et al., 2012), who did not detect racial differences The education level of mothers revealed a positive
in substance use among adolescents. However, white association with the probability of consumption of alcohol
adolescents in Brazil are generally more likely to consume and illicit drugs. Cigarette consumption was not statistically
some substance. significantly related to the education of mothers, and this
result aligns with Figueiredo et al.’s (2016) study, which
Greater age increases the likelihood of consuming all
substances similarly. This positive relationship between used a different database but reported no differences in
cigarette consumption by Brazilian adolescents vis-à-vis
age and substance use among adolescents has also been the educational level of their parents.
shown in other studies, such as (Sutherland & Shepherd,
2001; Guo et al., 2002; Horta et al., 2014; Barreto et al., In terms of the relationship between substance use
2014; Figueiredo et al., 2016; Chan et al., 2017), pointing and other risk behaviors, RBI values indicate greater
out that older adolescents are at greater risk of exposure exposure to risk. Therefore, a strong correlation was
to substance use. However, (Sutherland & Shepherd, 2001 observed between risk behaviors and substance use among
and Chan et al., 2017) also highlighted the perception of adolescents. Biglan et al. (1995) also observed a positive
poor school performance as a relevant factor for substance relationship between tobacco consumption and other risk
use among adolescents. behaviors. These results align with the opinion of Hersch
& Viscusi (1998) that risky behavior about health and risky
As higher SLI values indicate a worse standard of behavior are generally associated.
living, the negative sign of the model coefficients shows
that a better standard of living increases the probability of 4. Conclusion
substance use among adolescents, this result is consistent The results of this study indicated that the estimation of the
with that identified by Horta et al. (2014), who found an multivariate probit model for the consumption of alcohol,
association between income level and illicit drug use based cigarettes, and illicit drugs was preferable to the estimation
on the NSHS 2012 data. However, they identified that this of individual probit models for the consumption of each
relationship lost relevance in the NSHS 2015. However, it substance. The analysis of the joint decision-making
was observed that this relationship was once again relevant to use these different types of substances proved more
to NSHS 2019. This relationship between standard of appropriate and was justified by the correlation found
living and substance use can be explained by the greater between unobservable factors in the decision to consume
accessibility to the consumption of these products, mainly alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit drugs. These factors could
alcohol and illicit drugs, provided by a higher standard of be related to the application of the affect heuristic in this
living. consumption decision. As Slovic et al. (2005) exemplify,
Malta et al. (2014) reported no differences in alcohol the use of different types of substances can generate similar
consumption between public and private school students experiences and sensations for adolescents, such as the
in their study based on the NSHS 2012 data. Conversely, thrill of trying something new or having fun with friends.
the present investigation found that studying at a private A positive relationship was found between substance
school in Brazil reduced the probability of substance use by peers and the decisions of adolescents to use the
use in a statistically significant manner. This outcome is studied substances. Thus, in congruence with the trends
congruent with the findings reported by Figueiredo et al. reported in the existing literature, the presence of friends
(2016) on cigarette consumption. Living in urban areas who consume alcohol, illicit drugs, or cigarettes, or the
increased the probability of consuming all the studied existence of a parent who consumes cigarettes or alcohol
substances because they were more accessible in urban generally increases the probability of an adolescent
environments. choosing to consume these substances. Contact with other
In terms of the plans adolescents articulated for individuals who consume alcohol, cigarettes, or illicit drugs
their lives after completing high school, aspirations that can make adolescents positively perceive the use of these
involved continuing their studies were generally associated substances, underestimate their risks, and overestimate
with a lower likelihood of substance use, notwithstanding their benefits. Such effects could also relate to the affect
whether they aspired to continue their studies and work heuristic and to the desire to belong to a group.
or to just continue studying. However, aspirants who This study also noted that social interactions exert a
planned to just work after their high school qualification greater influence on the use of illicit drugs, which denote
or registered another plan did not evince the probability of substances that are less commonly consumed and less
reduced substance use vis-à-vis adolescents who reported socially accepted. The presence of friends who consume
no plans. illicit drugs exercises a positive and strongly statistically

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 157 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3829