Frank J. Ivis’s research while affiliated with Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and other places

This study examines the relationship between binge eating and substance use behaviors and attitudes in adolescents and explores gender differences and mental health correlates. The data are derived from the 1997 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey of public and Catholic school students. A weighted sample of 1,031 girls and 888 boys was categorized as nonbingers, past bingers, and noncompensating or compensating binge eaters. Binge eaters, particularly those who compensated, were more likely to use all types of substances, particularly cannabis and drugs other than tobacco and alcohol. Binge eating was associated with more problematic and heavier substance use and with lowered self-esteem and more depression. Female bingers were more likely to report compensatory behaviors than male students but gender differences in the relationship between binge eating and substance use were few. Adolescent binge eaters who engage in compensatory behaviors may be an appropriate target group for preventive programs in high schools.

Despite a growing interest in the use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, prevalence data has been scarce in Canada. A probability school survey conducted in 1997 among Ontario students in grades 7, 9, 11 and 13 is used to collect data on such use. Overall, 3.4% of students (5.3% of males, 1.7% of females) used methylphenidate in the previous year. Rates and patterns are similar to those found in the United States. Future research needs to examine reasons and correlates of use, extent of medical supervision and possible non-medical use of methylphenidate.

The development and psychometric testing of the new World Health Organization (WHO) disablement screening instrument for the general population is described. Two samples were used for the empirical tests: the cross-cultural sample of the WHO Disablement Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II) field tests in 19 countries (N = 1323), and an Ontario (Canada) general population sample (N = 802). Psychometric tests included procedures from classical test theory as well as analyses based on item response theory (IRT), both parametric and non-parametric. Results showed that the disablement screener had good properties with respect to classical test theory, but lacked compatibility with respect to IRT criteria. This lack of compatibility with IRT criteria generally leads to a test that must be redefined for each new sample and each time it is administered. Hence, the results reported in this paper suggest that the WHO disablement screener needs revision, if it is to serve as an international cross-cultural instrument. Copyright © 1999 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

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.

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.

We compared open-ended versus closed-ended questions on the frequency of consuming five or more drinks in a single sitting. From a general population survey of Ontario adults (N = 2,022, 62% male), we analyzed a subsample of 649 respondents who reported drinking five or more drinks in a single sitting at least once in the past year. Differences in agreement between the two questions and rates of missing data were evaluated. For the most part, the two measures were not consistent, with the closed-ended question eliciting higher rates of heavier drinking. Rates of missing data were also higher for the open-ended question. Open-ended question may not necessarily be more suitable than closed-ended questions for estimating the frequency of heavy alcohol use.

In this paper we examine the robustness of the influence of family structure on substance use among 2,057 Ontario adolescents students interviewed in 1993. Specifically, we examine the unadjusted and adjusted influence of four family structures (both parents; one parent; one parent and stepparent; and neither natural parent) on five substance use and delinquency outcomes. The results showed family structure differences for four of the five outcome variables disappeared or weakened significantly after adjusting for familial factors. The most influential familial interaction factor was the amount of time students spent with their family, which showed a significant inverse relationship for all five outcome variables. Overall, the analysis suggests that family relations and interactions are more influential on substance use and delinquency than is family structure.

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.

In this paper we examine the robustness of the influence of family structure on substance use among 2,057 Ontario adolescent students interviewed in 1993. Specifically, we examine the unadjusted and adjusted influence of four family structures (both parents; one parent; one parent and stepparent; and neither natural parent) on five substance use and delinquency outcomes. The results showed family structure differences for four of the five outcome variables disappeared or weakened significantly after adjusting for familial factors. The most influential familial interaction factor was the amount of time students spent with their family, which showed a significant inverse relationship for all five outcome variables. Overall, the analysis suggests that family relations and interactions are more influential on substance use and delinquency than is family Structure.

In this paper we examine period or secular changes in the association between drug use and delinquency among Ontario adolescent students between 1983 and 1991. The results show that during this period drug use and drug-selling declined significantly, whereas reported non-drug-related delinquency increased. In addition to differing secular trends in rates of drug use and delinquent behaviour, the association between the two behaviours weakened. There was a steady decline in the correlations between drug use and delinquency across time, and the typological patterning of drug use and delinquency changed significantly.