NCJ Number
197910
Editor(s)
Eilish Gilvarry
Date Published
2002
Length
138 pages
Annotation
This British report is a follow-up to the Health Advisory Service report, "Children and Young People, Substance Misuse Services - The Substance of Young Needs" (1996), as it updates and reviews the changes in policy, in commissioning, design and delivery of services; and in knowledge of the effectiveness of prevention and treatment interventions since the first publication.
Abstract
The scope of this review covers tobacco, alcohol, and drugs of potential misuse in young people up to the age of 19 years old. Further, it offers recommendations on commissioning, design, and delivery of services and interventions. Because substance use, especially misuse, occurs in a developmental and environmental context, many children and youth who misuse substances have multiple antecedent and co-occurring mental health, social, and educational problems. This report reviews the data on such antecedents. It reports that one in four live in substandard housing. African-Caribbean pupils are five times more likely to be excluded from school, although they are not more persistent truants. Infants born to fathers in unskilled or semi-skilled occupations have an infant mortality rate over 70-percent higher than those in professional or managerial positions. Ten percent of children have a mental disorder of sufficient severity to impair their development and the quality of their lives. One in three 12- to 15-year-olds are assaulted annually, and in 1998 there were over 41,000 conceptions to girls under 18; 42 percent ended in abortions. Regarding drug use, 11 percent of 11- to 15-year-olds use drugs. This report focuses on the development of conditions that enhance social and emotional health as well as the reduction of harm. Action steps are described under a series of recommendations, which are as follows: promote pubic awareness of substance use and misuse; develop, disseminate, and implement evidence-based education and prevention programs; promote and improve the screening and assessment of substance use and misuse in children and youth; develop, disseminate, and implement evidence-based interventions; ensure equality of access to services for all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic and disadvantaged groups; develop and implement a tiered model of services; and develop and implement a plan of integration. 108 references