NCJ Number
227975
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: July - August 2009 Pages: 240-253
Date Published
July 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper explored trends of substance misuse (cannabis) among youth in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
Results show that lifetime use of cannabis reported by participants in the High Risk Booster Samples was higher for those who continue to attend school (i.e. the 'in care' sample). While a higher level of use was reported by the 'in care' sample for 2 of the 3 years of the survey, the youth remained in school. The youth with moderate learning difficulty reported comparatively limited cannabis use throughout the research. Cannabis use amongst the high-risk booster sample reached a high of approximately 8 out of 10 participants during the third year of the research and remained at this level until the end of the study. Amongst the school sample, life use of cannabis was comparatively lower at the beginning of the research, rising gradually each year until the fourth year when the young people were aged 14-15 years of age. At this stage, more than 4 out of 10 in the sample reported lifetime cannabis use. At this level, use stabilized with only a modest increase reported during the fifth stage of the research. This study highlights the challenges facing policymakers and practitioners when addressing substance use and misuse amongst the youth. Data were collected from 4,000 young people attending 43 mainstream schools using the Belfast Youth Development Study (BYDS), a longitudinal study of adolescent substance use. Tables and references