Study highlights drug use among schoolchildren in the North
Almost half of all school children in the North have taken drugs by the time they are 15, a study showed today.
Even more worryingly, more than one in ten 15-year-olds have made the transition to more regular drug use.
The details have been uncovered by Queen’s University , Belfast, which has been tracking 3,500 young people for five years since they entered secondary school .
The Youth Development Study research team from the Institute of Child Care research collected information on key aspects of adolescent life including smoking, alcohol and drugs use.
The details are being disclosed at a conference in Belfast tomorrow.
The findings of the research included:
:: While drug use is very limited among young people in their first year of secondary school [aged 11/12], by the time they are 15 almost half have used illicit drugs and more than one in ten have made the transition to more regular drugs use;
:: Risk factors identified for being a regular drug user at 15 include - having a risk-taking personality profile, getting into trouble at school and being involved in delinquent behaviour;
:: At age 11 a clear gender divide existed in smoking, alcohol and drug use, with more boys than girls using. However as they grow older the gap narrows;
:: By age 15 more girls than boys smoke [50% against 42%] and girls are as likely as boys to get drunk or use illicit substances;
:: It is possible to identify subgroups of young people who are at risk of developing drug related problems – one such group is those excluded from school;
:: There is evidence of a potentially ‘hidden’ group of young people within schools who report regular and frequent drug use.
Professor Dorota Iwaniec, director of the Institute of Child Care research, said: “Drug use is a major social problem for Northern Ireland.
“This conference brings together key people who can make a difference , and to discuss and debate best practice guidance on addressing the community, social and individual harm caused by drugs.”
