Abstract Introduction Palestinian refugee children are prone to use energy drinks (ED) and smoke tobacco due to their stressful lives. Tobacco and caffeine products are the most socially accepted psychoactive substances among Palestinian refugee children. Unfortunately, no studies have examined the effects of ED intake and tobacco smoking on refugee children mental health. Methodology: The Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale for children (DSRS) was used to examine the prevalence of depression among schoolchildren from Palestinian refugee camps (N=362) aged 12-15 years. The association of depression with cigarettes, waterpipe, ecigarette smoking, and energy drinks (ED) intake was tested using adjusted logistic regression. Results Using a DSRS cut-off score of 15 points as a risk of depression, 28.9% of the children exceeded the cut-off. (23.5% of males and 34.4% of females, p-value 0.034). The prevalence of substance use was as follows: ED (53.8%, 66.9% of males, 40.5% of females), cigarette (11.6%, 19.3% of males, 3.7% of females), waterpipe (22.8%, 33.1% of males, 11.9% of females), e-cigarettes (3.3%, 4.2% of males, 2.5% of females) with male predominance. Depression was more prevalent among females (OR:2.7, 95%CI (1.57-4.98), p-value<0.001) and associated with cigarette smoking (OR:2.6, 95%CI 2 (1.15-5.98), p-value 0.022) and ED intake OR:1.808, 95%CI (1.04-3.17), p-value 0.038). No association between waterpipe and e-cigarettes was determined. Conclusion This study revealed the high prevalence of depression and the detrimental effects of smoking and energy drinks on refugee children. They also suggest the urgent need to address depression and risk factors among Palestinian children, identify high-risk children, and offer easily accessible psychological help. Key words: Energy drinks, Depression, Refugee, Palestinian odelscnents

Conference Title

Lisbon Addictions 2022 conference

Conference Country

Australia

Conference Date

Nov. 23, 2022 - Nov. 25, 2022

Conference Sponsor

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

Additional Info

Conference Website