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Background: In Mexico, alcohol consumption in adolescents has increased and the reasons why adolescents do that have hardly been studied. Likewise, studies on the possible differences in the reasons for consumption among adolescents who consume alcohol occasionally and excessively are scarce at the international level. Objective: To examine the reasons for consuming alcohol in adolescents, and to study if these differ depending on whether the consumption is occasional or excessive. Material and methods: The DMQ-R-SF (Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised-Short-Form) and AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) scales were administered to Mexican adolescents from 4 schools (one middle-school and 3 highschools) who had ever consumed alcohol. Results: The sample consisted of 307 adolescents (mean 16.17 ± SD = 1.24), out of which 174 (56.7%) were female. It was observed that the most frequently mentioned reason was social, followed by improvement and coping, with conformity being the least recognized. In the results extracted from the multiple regression analyses, it was observed that alcohol consumption in the total sample is explained by three of the four reasons. However, occasional consumption is explained by the social and improvement reasons, but excessive consumption is only explained by coping with aversive experiences. Conclusions: These results suggest that it is very useful to detect those adolescents who consume as a way of coping, and offer them adaptive regulation strategies against anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traditionally, psychopathology has been related to suicide risk, furthermore if we bear in mind that the recent meta-analysis on the relationship between some mental disorders and the risk of suicide attempt are inconclusive, and have been performed with non-clinical samples. Objective: To establish the psychopathological differences between female adolescent patients with and without suicide attempt. Material and methods: Comparative, prospective, correlational and cross-sectional study. A sample of 50 female participants was used, divided into 2 groups: one of cases, (n = 25), made up of female patients between 15 and 19 years of age with suicide attempt, and a control group of pairs (n = 25) with no history of suicide attempt. The following instruments were applied: the Plutchik Impulsivity Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the K-Sads-PL, the Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale, and the Hamilton Depression Scale. Results: A greater presence of the disorders evaluated was found: major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in the group with suicide attempt. Furthermore, the case group obtained higher mean scores on the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Plutchik Impulsivity Scale. Conclusions: The results agree with most of previous studies. It is suggested to carry out preventive interventions in cases where a considerably increased risk is detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]