NCJ Number
137665
Journal
Australian Journal of Public Health Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (1992) Pages: 43-49
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper presents findings on the use of licit and illicit drugs among New South Wales (Australia) secondary school students (3,753) in late 1989 as well as on the accuracy of students' perceptions of the drug causing the most and fewest drug-related deaths.
Abstract
The cross-sectional survey used a representative sample of secondary school students drawn from government and nongovernment schools in metropolitan and rural New South Wales during September 1989. Logistic regression was used to test for associations between age, gender, and reported drug use. For alcohol, analgesics, cannabis, and inhalants, the outcomes of interest were whether or not the drug had ever been used and whether or not the drug had been used at least three to five times during the previous months. For sedatives, hallucinogens, stimulants, and narcotics, the outcome of interest was if the drug had ever been used. For tobacco the outcomes of interest were whether or not the student currently smoked tobacco (either occasionally or daily) and whether or not the student had ever smoked a cigarette more than once or twice during his or her lifetime. Findings indicate that licit drugs (tobacco, alcohol, and analgesics) were the most frequently and widely used. Rates of use for illicit drugs were low, although there was some degree of experimental use of cannabis that increased among older males. Students tended to view heroin as the drug that causes most drug-related deaths, an inaccurate perception given the data on tobacco-related and alcohol-related deaths. Implications of the findings are drawn for school drug education and future research. 2 tables, 4 figures, and 12 references