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Abstract
This paper describes trends in alcohol and other drug use among Ontario students between 1977 and 1995, especially those occurring between 1993 and 1995. Data are based on the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, which to date represents 10 cross-sectional surveys conducted every two years since 1977. In each survey, approximately 4,000 students in grades 7, 9, 11 and 13 are interviewed in their classrooms. The findings show that after a decade of declining drug use, rates of use increased between 1993 and 1995. Of the 20 drugs surveyed in 1995, the use of 8 increased significantly from 1993. Increases in drug use were more common among 9th- and 11th-grades.
... Previous studies in Western populations have mostly found that adolescents from non-intact families were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and to initiate drug use [17,18] compared with those from intact families. For instance, Adlaf et al (1996) reported that single-parent adolescents were 103%, 53% and 66% more likely to become heavy smokers, heavy drinkers and illicit drug users, respectively. ...
... Previous studies in Western populations have mostly found that adolescents from non-intact families were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and to initiate drug use [17,18] compared with those from intact families. For instance, Adlaf et al (1996) reported that single-parent adolescents were 103%, 53% and 66% more likely to become heavy smokers, heavy drinkers and illicit drug users, respectively. However, contradictory findings have also been reported. ...
The family plays a vital role in shaping adolescent behaviours. The present study investigated the associations between family structure and substance use among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents.
A total of 32,961 Form 1 to 5 (grade 7-12 in the US) Hong Kong students participated in the Youth Smoking Survey in 2003-4. An anonymous questionnaire was used to obtain information about family structure, daily duration of parent-child conversation, smoking, alcohol drinking and drug use. Logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for each substance use by family structure.
Adjusting for sex, age, type of housing, parental smoking and school, adolescents from non-intact families were significantly more likely to be current smokers (OR = 1.62), weekly drinkers (OR = 1.72) and ever drug users (OR = 1.72), with significant linear increases in ORs from maternal, paternal to no-parent families compared with intact families. Furthermore, current smoking (OR = 1.41) and weekly drinking (OR = 1.46) were significantly more common among adolescents from paternal than maternal families. After adjusting for parent-child conversation time, the ORs for non-intact families remained significant compared with intact families, but the paternal-maternal differences were no longer significant.
Non-intact families were associated with substance use among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. The apparently stronger associations with substance use in paternal than maternal families were probably mediated by the poorer communication with the father.
... Focusing on ecstasy consumption some European surveys in varying age groups show a high variability: the estimated prevalence was 4– 5% in Belgium in 1994, 0.5% in Denmark, 0.4% in Sweden and 0.2% in Finland in 1995 (Calafat, 1997). Some other studies suggest an increase over time of the prevalence of ecstasy use and associated risks, especially in younger age groups (Adlaf et al., 1996;). In general the scientific literature suggests a huge geographical variability, a general increasing temporal trend and solid evidence of polydrug use among young people. ...
... Data on prevalence of drug consumption are similar to other European estimates: approximately 37% have used substances (mainly cannabis) at least once in their life, whereas about 1% of the people interviewed used heroin at least once. The prevalence of ecstasy use was 9.2% in a school based survey in Great Britain in 1995 (Miller and Plant, 1996), while it ranged from 0.6 to 1.8% in a school based survey in Ontario (Adlaf et al., 1996). The determinants of ecstasy use may also be quite similar in different European communities. ...
Increasing alarm is shown regarding patterns of polydrug use among young people, particularly regarding recreational drugs. Prevalence of recreational drug usage in Europe is not clearly defined, varying for ecstasy, from 0.2% (Finland, 1995) to 9.2% (UK, 1995) and suggesting a tendency to increase in the last years. The aim of this study is to present patterns of polydrug use among a sample of the general population of young males in Piedmont (Northern Italy), focusing particularly on ecstasy consumption. A cross sectional study was carried out between September and November 1998 on a continuous sample of 3274 18-year-old conscripts. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics and substances use was submitted during routine tests. Results showed that the overall lifetime prevalence of drug use is 36.6%; prevalence of polydrug use is 30% and the more frequently associated drugs are LSD, cocaine, inhalants and ecstasy. One hundred and forty five (4.6%) subjects reported having taken ecstasy at least once in their life; 20 of the 145 (13.8%) suffered from negative effects and three (2%) presented to a hospital or to a physician. The risk of ever taking ecstasy is inversely related to father's education, with a trend that is quite similar to that of heroin consumption but that is different from the trend for cannabis. In conclusion the four major results of this study are: (i) a prevalence of drug consumption similar to other European estimates, with a clear tendency to polydrug use; (ii) for ecstasy, a very high association rate with other substances; (iii) the moderately high prevalence of self-reported symptoms, and (iv) a social distribution of use similar to the one observed for heroin. This last consideration suggests that a high level of attention and further research should be addressed to the natural history of ecstasy use.
... For example, 73% of U.S. and Australian adolescent males and 71% of females report having drunk alcohol (Pirkis, Irwin, Brindis, Patton, & Sawyer, 2003). Moreover, the majority of these adolescents (up to 70%) report their alcohol initiation occurred by age 12 (Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1996;Peterson, Hawkins, Abbott, & Catalano, 1994). A common pattern of alcohol use among adolescents is heavy episodic drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on a single occasion (Pols & Hawks, 1992). ...
The news of teenagers and even younger children committing ever more serious and violent crimes continues to shock and baffle. The escalating psychological and social toll of youth crime is being paid by all – from victims to offenders to parents and siblings to teachers and to the community as a whole. Adolescent Reputations and Risk looks beyond traditional theories to examine, from a solid empirical basis, the motivation and values that make some young people choose antisocial over positive behavior, resulting in potent new insights and possible solutions to this ongoing problem.
Synthesizing 15 years of research with delinquent youth, this volume describes the volatile dynamic of child and adolescent social worlds, emphasizing reputation enhancement and goal-setting as bases underlying deviant behavior. In innovative and accessible terms, Adolescent Reputations and Risk:
• Addresses delinquency throughout the course of childhood and adolescence.
• Offers the first detailed explanation of delinquency by integrating goal-setting and reputation enhancement theories.
• Provides evidence analyzing deviant trends in goal-setting and reputation enhancement terms among primary and high school students.
• Answers key questions on topics such as impulsivity, drug and inhalant use, early-childhood psychopathy, links between ADHD and aggression, and the psychology of loners.
• Includes current data on interventions for at-risk youth, including family and school methods, cognitive-behavioral therapy, wilderness and boot camp programs, and interactive multimedia strategies.
This volume is an essential resource for clinical child, school, and counseling psychologists; social workers; and allied education and community mental health professionals and practitioners.
... Akers and Cochran (1985) highlighted the ubiquitous influence of deviant peers in adolescent marijuana use, compared with social bond and strain theory measures, and we anticipate that social learning theory will be a significant predictor of prescription drug misuse, marijuana use, and the use of other illicit drugs. But as the use of prescription medication has been somewhat normalized in contemporary society (Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1996; Poulin & Elliot, 1997; Quintero et al., 2006), yet marijuana and other street drugs remain stigmatized in most segments of society (Hammersley, Jenkins, & Reid, 2001), we contend that the influences of deviant peers on prescription drug misuse will be somewhat diminished, relative to the effect of deviant peers on marijuana and other illicit drug use. Because prescription medications are used for conventional purposes and the harms associated with using such medication without a prescription are discounted (Quintero et al., 2006), and the positive benefits of using prescription medications for nonmedical purposes are promoted within the youth culture (Quintero et al., 2006), the traditional social learning theory process of attitude transmission and social reinforcement within the peer group is not necessarily required for individuals to internalize definitions favorable to prescription drug misuse. ...
Shifting drug use patterns away from traditional illicit drugs (i.e., heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines) and toward prescription drug misuse among adolescents necessitates a renewed theoretical emphasis in adolescent drug use research. Given the unique processes and perspectives associated with prescription drug misuse, theoretical connections to prescription drug misuse likely show different patterns than prior research has shown with marijuana and other illicit drugs. Using data from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors apply concepts of social control theory, social learning theory, and strain theory to prescription drug misuse and draw comparisons with the predictors of marijuana and other drug use. Findings indicate that social learning, social control, and strain measures exert unique and independent influences on all three categories of adolescent substance use. Despite the similar theoretical effects across categories of substance use, many notable differences in theoretical processes are evident, especially for prescription drug misuse.
... Ten percent of Canadian youth between the ages of 10 to 19 years smoke cigarettes on a daily basis (Health Canada, 1996). The most recent Ontario Student Dmg Use Survey, a bi-annual survey of students in grades 9 to 13, showed a significant increase in rates of smoking among high school students in the last two years (Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1995;Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1997), with 28 percent of students reporting cigarette use in the past 12 months. ...
... Historically speaking, found that the first use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis occurred at an earlier age for Ontario students during the late 1970s and early 1980s, compared to students in the 1990s. A recent study of Ontario students showed that the age of first tobacco use, as well as first alcohol use, is approximately 12 (grade 7), while the average age for first marijuana use is about 14 (Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1996). Using Ontario data, DeWit, Offord, and Wong (1997) found that, for various substances, the risk of first use peaks at around age 16, with the exception of cocaine which begins later. ...
This paper critically reviews the evaluative literature on programs and other interventions designed to prevent substance-use problems among youth. We start from a description and discussion of patterns and trends in youthful drug use, and evidence on types of harm. We then describe and assess the literature evaluating programs and initiatives to prevent youthful drug problems. The following headings were used: Education & Persuasion, Community-Based, Legal and Regulatory Policies, and Harm Reduction. Lastly, in the light of this review, we offer some commentary and analysis concerning the reality of program goals, theoretical underpinnings, and cost-effectiveness. We conclude with recommendations for future prevention strategies.
... H ealth and social problems related to 'recreational drug' consumption are a relevant and complex field of research. This complexity can be easily demonstrated by the lack of a shared definition: designer drugs, disco drugs, recreational drugs, psychoactive drugs, synthetic drugs, etc. [1][2][3] What brings all these definitions together is the relatively 'new' pattern of consumption 4,5 and, on this issue, research presently offers poor and fragmentary evidence. 4,6,7 For these reasons, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OEDT) set up a project aimed at monitoring typology and doses of market substances (Early Warning System), 8,9 and data collected showed, in 2001, a population consumption prevalence varying from 0.5% to 3% for cocaine, from 0.5% to 6% for amphetamine and from 4% to 18% for legal psychoactive drugs sold with medical prescription. ...
Recreational drug consumption represents a complex issue, because of the lack of a shared definition, settings and patterns of consumptions, and poorness of evidence-based treatments. In spite of the great number of users, just few seek specific treatment, probably representing those at major risk of continuing and problematic use. The general objective of this study was to report the characteristics and main consumption patterns of recreational drug consumers treated in Regione Piemonte (Italy), in order to formulate hypotheses suitable for further research aimed at establishing more effective preventive intervention and treatment.
All addiction treatment services in the region were required to fill in, for each user, a questionnaire reporting: contact of the user with the service, socio-demographic data, drugs consumption and interventions/treatments.
Among 441 users, 70.3% were new users, 85.5% were males and the average age of consumption onset was 22 years. Psychiatric and traumatics events were present in 13.3% and in 17.9% of cases, respectively. The most frequent primary substances were cocaine (76.9%) and ecstasy (13.8%). Substances taken in association with primary drug are quoted in 75% of cases.
The users that get in touch with services are those showing greater problems, representing, therefore, the main target for preventive public health interventions. Some interesting points can be noted: among patients treated, cocaine represents the main issue; females seem to be more sensitive to recreational drug effects; social class (education), settings and use habits are similar for recreational drugs users and heroin users.
... Other research has found that up to 70% of adolescents report drinking by age 12 (Petersen, Hawkins, Abbott, & Catalano, 1994). Similarly, Canadian surveys indicate an average age of first alcohol use at 12 years (Adlaf, Ivis, Smart, & Walsh, 1996). The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 1999) reported that 99% of Australian adolescents under the age of 19 have consumed alcohol. ...
Alcohol use usually starts in early adolescence. While the greater proportion of young people develop adaptive patterns of drinking, many drink at harmful levels and may be at risk for future alcohol-related problems. Findings from the empirical literature suggest that universal prevention programs may delay onset of drinking among low-risk baseline abstainers; however, there is little evidence supporting their utility for at-risk adolescents. Further research is needed on how risk and protective factors interact to determine substance use trajectory, and intervention outcomes that take substance use trajectories into account may capture change more effectively than the use of absolute measures of substance use. Indicated prevention programs may benefit from modulations that account for adolescent individuation and identity formation. It is argued that motivational interviewing within a harm reduction framework is well suited to adolescents.
Advances in fields as diverse as sociology, behavioral science, education, developmental psychology, economics, neuroscience, and genetics are catalyzing a critical shift in the way we study the etiological underpinnings of substance use and addiction. As a result, science has entered an era of “demoralizing” substance use and addiction, and has embraced consistent, empirical observations that certain risk and resiliency factors influence the escalation of initial experimentation to problematic proportions. Increasing the precision of preventive and treatment approaches can be guided by our growing knowledge of underlying mechanisms in both etiological pathways and individual variability in intervention responsivity. This chapter presents the most recent conceptualization of these pathways defined by an “ecobiodevelopmental” theoretical framework.
This report compares trends in the prevalence of the use of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, LSD and cocaine between American and Ontario adolescent students. Data from two repeated cross-sectional epidemiological surveys, one in the USA and the other in the province of Ontario, spanning the years 1975-1997 were used. Overall, trends in alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use were similar in both studies: alcohol use has been steadily decreasing since the late 1970s, while both cigarette use and cannabis reached a peak in the late 1970s, decreased throughout the 1980s, and then began dramatic increases in 1992. In contrast, cocaine use has been consistently higher in the USA, especially during the 1980s, but LSD use has been noticeably higher in all time periods among Ontario students. The use of the more common drugs among students in both the USA and Ontario often follow consistent patterns, which suggests that changes in use are due to fundamental shifts in attitudes, rather than the policies or cultural values of a particular country. Less prevalent drugs (cocaine, LSD) show fewer similarities which may reflect deeper cultural differences.
Despite the cross-culturally persistent high prevalence of cannabis use in general adult populations, in-depth analyses of extended use careers are uncommon in the scientific literature. This paper reports on in-depth interviews conducted with 104 users living in Toronto, Canada. A pretested questionnaire developed for use in a larger, cross-national study guided data collection on use levels and frequency from the first year to most recent month of use. The data support a controlled drug use model, with aggregate intake eventually decreasing and becoming stable or more moderate over time. Four main career patterns are identified and compared on measures of dependence and levels of consumption in the year prior to the study. In comparison with those whose long-term use has varied, stable users report fewer cannabis-related problems, despite using more heavily and frequently. While dependency problems are highly subjective, transitions in use patterns more generally reflect personal contingencies of lifestyle.
Current trends and lifestyles of young adolescents have become a great challenge to the family institution to form an excellent adolescents and free from the influence of drugs. Thus, the main objective of this study was therefore to determine the level of the family relationships with an adolescences who have been involved in drugs. This research used quantitative method particularly cross sectional survey. A representative sample of 200 male adolescents, age between 13-21 years from Henry Gurney School was selected as respondents by using stratified random sampling. The results of the survey indicated 195 (97.5%) respondents participated in this study showed a moderate to a higher level of family relationship. Whereas, 5 (2.8%) respondents indicated lower relationships with their families. The findings has contributed a new empirical data compared with previous research that frequently tended to relate the poor relationship, lack of parental support, weak monitoring and conflict with adolescents involvement in negative activities which contributed to the collapse of morality, values and identity of younger generation. Findings suggest that family institutions should stressed the needs of the young generation today's to ensure that they are always on the right track to become a successful and free from drugs.
The adult world's concern about youthful drug use is not only about the fact of use, but also about the age at which experimentation or regular use begins. Sometimes the explicit aim of prevention campaigns is to postpone the age of drinking or other contested behaviours, such as sexual activity. This corresponds to the concept of a ‘social clock’, discussed in the sociological literature, that guides when behaviours are viewed as normative; before that age the behaviour is seen as deviant or disturbing. Given studies that have claimed an upturn in teenage drug use, as well as a decrease in the age of onset of use, some have hypothesized that liberal parenting styles of the ‘baby boomers’ play a significant role. The present study is the first part of a larger research endeavour, which compares adults' and teens' opinions, that seeks to understand whether liberal views are prevalent among adults today, and what factors are associated with these views. In a survey of 1025 adults (aged 25 and over), we asked: ‘Regardless of what the law says, at what age does it become OK’ for a person to engage in 15 contested behaviours. Half the sample was asked the questions concerning a male protagonist, and half concerning a female. Results showed that between approximately one-fifth and one-half of the sample volunteered that it was ‘never OK’ to engage in eight of the behaviours: having sex with a girl/boyfriend, moving in with a girl/boyfriend, going to a bar with friends and drinking enough to feel the effects, buying a pack of cigarettes, smoking a cigarette, getting drunk on beer at home, becoming a regular smoker, and trying some marijuana. More ‘never’ responses were offered a female protagonist, particularly for smoking-related behaviours. For those who gave an age, the acceptable mean ages and their ordering were much the same for female protagonists as for males, with all but one behaviour (dating) having acceptable mean ages of initiation clustered around 18 or 19. Strong predictors of tolerance for youthful engagement in the contested behaviours included respondents' socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. being male, young, less religious), perceiving less risk from substance use, and current alcohol and marijuana use.
The goal of this study was to identify protective and risk factors linked to substance use during adolescence. A sample of 1000 subjects participated in a four-wave data collection. Results showed that precocious substance use is likely to be persistent. Moreover, school inadaptation, lack of parental supervision and positive self-perception in relationships with peers have been identified as risk factors predictive of cigarette, alcohol and drug use. Protective factors were associated with high moral qualities and negative reaction to mother's use of cigarettes and alcohol. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental trajectories which might lead to substance use and abuse through adult life. Cette etude vise a identifier les facteurs d'ordre personnel, familial, social et scolaire lies a la consommation de substances psychotropes a l'adolescence. Environ 1000 adolescents ont participe a quatre collectes de donnees echellonnees sur une periode de 44 mois. Les resultats montrent un lien entre la consommation precoce de substances psychotropes et la persistance de cette habitude. D'autres facteurs tels les competences a entrer en interaction avec les pairs, l'inadaptation scolaire et le manque de supervision parentale sont egalement des predicteurs d'une telle habitude. En retour, l'importance accordee aux qualites morales et les reactions negatives vis-a-vis les habitudes de consommation de la mere sont associees a un flechissement de cette habitude. La discussion porte sur l'importance d'identifier les trajectoires developpementales menant a la dependance aux substances psychotropes.
This paper identifies the best characteristics of gateway drug prevention programs that have the effect of preventing or reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana by adolescents. A comprehensive literature review of the performance of school-, family-, and community-based drug prevention programs covering the last 20 years was conducted to identify the best characteristics of successful programs. Six characteristics were identified that are common to successful drug prevention programs: involving parents; teaching life and resistance skills and normative education; enacting laws and policies against adolescent drug use; encouraging peer participation; conducting a media campaign; and retaining program participants. School administrators, parents, and community leaders can use the knowledge in this paper to design drug prevention programs that can accommodate specific risk factors and types of gateway drug use by adolescents.
Cannabis use has undergone a transition from what was once a largely marginal activity to one that is more generally established. Although the practice is both prevalent and tolerated widely, there is still a certain stigma experienced by users and associated risks that they acknowledge. The thesis of normalization suggests that a more nuanced understanding of such deviance is needed. The focus of analysis, accordingly, must shift from looking at types or traits of drug users to the specific circumstances in which a drug is used. Based on interviews conducted with experienced users in Toronto (N = 104), this paper examines the idea of normal cannabis consumption based on users' own perceptions and management of risk.
Trauma is the third largest cause of death world-wide. In 1990, it caused 10% of all deaths. As it particularly affects young people, trauma is the biggest cause of economic loss and potential years of life lost. Furthermore, for every death there are at least two cases of permanent disability. Trauma is likely to touch all our lives, to a greater or lesser extent. Over the past 20 years, the total number of deaths from injury has fallen across the world despite a concomitant rise in the population. However, this decrease has occurred mainly in developed countries. Elsewhere, death rates due to injury have been increasing since the mid-1980s. Even in developed countries, violent deaths are assuming increasing importance as infectious and parasitic diseases are no longer so prominent. The causes of violent death vary over time. This article will look at trends in these changes over the past two decades.
Background:
Morbidity and mortality related to Prescription Opioid Analgesics (POAs) have been rising sharply in North America. Non-Medical Prescription Opioid Use (NMPOU) in the general population is a key indicator of POA-related harm, yet the role of question item design for best NMPOU prevalence estimates in general population surveys is unclear, and existing NMPOU survey data for Canada are limited.
Methods:
We tested the impact of different NMPOU question items by comparing an item in the 2008 and 2009 (N = 2,017) samples of the CAMH Monitor surveys - an Ontario adult general population survey - with a newly developed item used in the 2010 (N = 2,015) samples of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Monitor surveys. To control for a potential difference in the population demographics between surveys, we adjusted for gender, age, region, income, prescription opioid use, cigarette smoking, weekly binge drinking, cannabis use in the past three months, and psychological distress in our analyses.
Results:
The prevalence of NMPOU as measured by the 2008 and 2009 CAMH monitor (2.0% [95% CI: 1.2% to 2.8%]) was significantly different when compared to the prevalence of NMPOU as measured by the 2010 CAMH monitor (7.7% [95% CI: 6.3% to 9.2%]) (p < 0.001). This difference was also found when stratifying our analysis by sex (p < 0.001) and when adjusting for all potential confounding covariates.
Conclusion:
It is highly unlikely that the extensive NMPOU prevalence differences observed from the different survey items reflect an actual increase of NMPOU or changes in NMPOU determinants, but rather point to measurement effects. It appears that we currently do not have accurate estimates of NMPOU in the Canadian general population, even though these estimates are needed to guide and implement targeted interventions. Given the current substantial morbidity and mortality impact of NMPOU, there is an urgent need to systematically develop, validate and standardize NMPOU items for future general population surveys in Canada.
The view that drug and alcohol abuse is associated with violence and aggressive behaviour enjoys considerable support by a number of older and recent publications, the majority of which look at the effect of alcohol. Recent studies on possible aetiological and contributing factors, new approaches and research issues (difficulties, new directions) are of particular interest for planning more effective preventive and treatment strategies.
Substance use disorders frequently begin during the adolescent years, and are associated with marked morbidity and increased mortality. The association of substance abuse with childhood antisocial behaviour is well established. The present review focuses on recent work that explores the relative importance of antisocial behaviour, other psychopathologies, and other risk and protective factors in the causation of substance use disorders. It also describes studies that evaluated treatment and prevention interventions, and identifies potentially fruitful areas for future study.
This report compares trends in the prevalence of the use of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, LSD and cocaine between American and Ontario adolescent students. Data from two repeated cross-sectional epidemiological surveys, one in the USA and the other in the province of Ontario, spanning the years 1975-1997were used. Overall, trends in alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use were similar in both studies: alcohol use has been steadily decreasing since the late 1970s, while both cigarette use and cannabis reached a peak in the late 1970s, decreased throughout the 1980s, and then began dramatic increases in 1992. In contrast, cocaine use has been consistently higher in the USA, especially during the 1980s, but LSD use has been noticeably higher in all time periods among Ontario students. The use of the more common drugs among students in both the USA and Ontario often follow consistent patterns, which suggests that changes in use are due to fundamental shifts in attitudes, rather than the policies or cultural values of a particular country. Less prevalent drugs (cocaine, LSD) show fewer similarities which may reflect deeper cultural differences.
To characterize adolescent drug use in terms of a risk continuum and to explore the rationale for harm reduction as a potential approach for school-based drug prevention.
Self-reported surveys, in 1991 and 1996, of adolescent students concerning their use of drugs, especially alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, and the harmful consequences of such use.
Nova Scotia.
A total of 3452 (in 1991) and 3790 (in 1996) junior and high school students in randomly selected classes in the public school system.
Prevalence of drug use and patterns of multiple drug use and of alcohol- and drug-related problems; independent risk factors for multiple drug use. The risk continuum for the response to alcohol problems was used as a policy framework.
The prevalence of cigarette smoking and the use of hallucinogens and stimulants was markedly higher in 1996 than in 1991. Over one-fifth (21.9%) of the students reported multiple drug use of alcohol and tobacco and cannabis in the 12 months before the 1996 survey. The 3 main subgroups--nonusers, users of alcohol only and users of multiple drugs--had distinct patterns of use, numbers of problems and risk factors. In all, 27.1% of the students had experienced at least 1 alcohol-related problem and 6% had experienced at least 1 drug-related problem in the 12 months before the 1996 survey.
There is a need for integrated school- and community-based drug prevention programs, with goals, strategies and outcome measures capturing the full spectrum of patterns of use and levels of risk among subgroups of the adolescent student population.
Every 2 years, the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, a division of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, sponsors the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. The results of the surveys conducted in 1995 and 1997 are presented here and compared with results from the early 1990s.
Questionnaires were completed by 3870 and 3990 Ontario public school students enrolled in grades 7, 9, 11 and 13 in 1995 and 1997 respectively. The outcome measures were prevalence of use of 20 types of drugs and other substances, including alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs, over the previous 12 months.
For several drugs the prevalence of use in the previous 12 months had increased from 1993 to 1995, but from 1995 to 1997 there was a significant increase for only one type (hallucinogens such as mescaline and psilocybin). The inhalation of glue declined, and the use of the other 18 types of drugs remained stable.
Recent data suggest that increases in adolescent student drug use reported earlier this decade have not continued. However, the stability in rates of drug use is not a justification for complacency in this important area of public health.
This article summarizes data on alcohol and drug use from studies of high school students in 36 countries. Drug use levels varied greatly among countries, but alcohol and cannabis were used most often, followed by amphetamines, ecstasy, and cocaine. In countries having high levels of cannabis use, the use of other drugs was also more common but there were no consistent differences for alcohol. Use of various drugs was correlated except for alcohol use, which was related to cannabis use only when some countries with low alcohol use levels were removed. In general, the studies show that drug use priorities for studies are mainly the same in the countries studied.
This paper examines how levels of drinking, daily drinking and heavy drinking are related in 18 countries. There is wide national variation in consumption patterns. The proportions of students drinking and the proportion drinking at least six times in the past month correlated with per capita consumption in the total adult population. Some student drinking variables correlated with each other. Most countries (n=14) could be classified into one of two distinct groups based on the percentage of students who reported drinking at least six times per month, the percentage reporting drinking at least five drinks per day at any time in the last month and per capita alcohol consumption. Some countries in these groups were geographically close but others were not. Further research is needed to understand differences and similarities among countries with respect to student drinking.
This study uses data from the Ontario Health Survey to examine within-family influences (sibship number, age and sex composition; family structure and parental substance use) on the use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana in households (N = 4,643) among offspring aged 12 to 24 years. Using a modification of the kappa statistic, concordance among siblings is modest generally and undifferentiated across substance type. Concordance is stronger among sibships that are either all male or older (19-24 years) and is particularly strong for siblings < or = two years apart in age. The dominant influence of substance use behaviour appears to be from older siblings to younger siblings and not from parents to offspring. Sibling concordance for substance use suggests that the treatment and prevention of substance use (and abuse) among adolescents and young adults might be enhanced by including a family focus, especially where there are two or more siblings at home.
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