progress report spring 2011 bc adolescent substance use survey

Transcription

1 progress report spring 2011 bc adolescent substance use survey

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3 foreword The British Columbia Adolescent Substance Use Survey (BASUS) is a multi-year study of teenagers attitudes about, and experiences with, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs that is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the main health research agency funded by the Federal Government. This web-based survey will follow up to 5000 teenagers from the start of grade 8 through three years of high school. Because we will be collecting information from the same group of teenagers for several years, we will be able to learn how different experiences, pressures, and environments affect teenagers decisions to use or not use drugs or alcohol as they progress through secondary school. The BASUS study reduces the demands on teachers and school administrators by capitalizing on adolescents regular use of the internet to obtain detailed longitudinal assessments of the psychological and social factors thought to be associated with substance use. This information will enable us to identify sub-groups of adolescents at increased risk of developing problems related to substance use and begin the process of developing highly tailored interventions that could eventually be delivered to adolescents in real time over the internet before severe problems develop. The objective of this report is to provide participating schools with a brief summary of the findings from year 1 and characterize substance use among adolescents in BC. The most interesting parts are yet to come as we continue to follow these adolescents over time and see who begins to experiment with substance use, who develops problematic use patterns and what factors appear to play a role in youths vulnerability to unsafe substance use. 3

4 healthregions_map_basus_draft1.pdf 1 4/17/ :54:37 PM Figure 1: Map of BC with numbers of students for each health authority. British Columbia Health Authorities 5951 C M Prince Rupert Terrace Northern N= Y CM Kitimat Fort St. John MY Dawson Creek CY CMY 5952 K Prince George Vancouver 5933 Coastal Quesnel 5943 Williams Lake Campbell River Courtenay Vancouver Island Port Alberni N=87 Duncan Powell River Coastal Nanaimo Vancouver Fraser Chilliwack Victoria Abbotsford N=150 N= Penticton Interior N=228 Kamloops Vernon Kelowna Cranbrook 4

5 Table 1: Ethnicity of BASUS participants South East Asian West Asian Arab Latin American Korean Black Japanese Filipino South Asian 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 3% 5% Chinese 7% Aboriginal 13% White 57% Other 12% demographics In total, 1367 adolescents from approximately 45 different secondary schools across the province have been enrolled in the BASUS study in waves 1 and 2. Of these students, 49% were female and 51% were male. All students were enrolled in grade 8 and the majority (96%) were 13 years old. BASUS includes students from all 5 health authorities in BC (Figure 1). The survey also includes students from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Of the 13% who identified themselves as Aboriginal (Table 1), 36% had lived on a reserve. 5

6 tobacco While Canada has implemented important smoking legislation to control and reduce the prevalence of tobacco use, smoking still remains the single greatest cause of preventable death. According to the 2007 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, the rate of smoking among youth years was 10.4%, with 5.9% of youth reporting daily smoking. The smoking rate jumped to 22.7% among youth years of age with 14.5% reporting that they were daily smokers. In the BASUS study, the majority (87%) of students reported that they have never tried smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products. For the remaining 12.5% who said that they have tried smoking, the majority started when they were 12 or 13 years old; however, there is a small number of students who tried smoking as early as 8 years old. Having parents or friends who smoke increases teens risk of becoming a smoker. Among all youth in this sample, 28% reported that their parents smoke and 16.0% reported that their close friends smoke (Table 2). The majority of the smokers said that they do not have intentions to continue smoking 3 years from now. Despite these stated intentions, research indicates that most of these young smokers will still be smoking in the future. Among those BASUS participants who had never smoked, only 6% felt pressured to smoke and the majority did not have plans to smoke in the future, even though many were offered cigarettes by friends at school or at parties. Several common reasons for not smoking include that smoking is a dirty habit that is harmful to one s health and that smoking reduces your fitness and ability to engage in sports (Table 3). 6

7 Table 2: Percent of youth with smokers in their lives 28% 13% 16% 4% Parents Siblings Boyfriend/girlfriend Close friends Table 3: Main reasons for not smoking Not interested 76% Harmful to health 73% Dirty habit 71% Don't want to get addicted 69% Interferes with sports 60% Don't want to disappoint parents 59% Don't like the taste or smell 55% Know someone who died from smoking 34% Tobacco is expensive 30% 7

8 alcohol In BC, it is not legal to buy alcohol until 19 years of age; however, this law does not stop many adolescents from accessing and consuming alcohol. Underage drinking typically takes place behind closed doors and in an uncontrolled environment. The rate of heavy drinking among youth can be much higher among youth aged than those 25 years and older. First use of alcohol at ages years also greatly heightens the risk of developing risky substance use in later life. In the BASUS study, over 31% of the study participants reported drinking some form of alcohol in the past 6 months, including beer, ciders, coolers, wine, or liquor. This rate is similar to the average rate across Canada for youth of this age. The youth in this study reported that their parents drink on average 1-2 days a week, although a smaller sample (7%) reported that their parents drink almost every day. Within the group of students that have tried drinking, the majority (56%) started when they were years old. Over 12% of students reported binge drinking (i.e., had 5 or more drinks in under 8

9 Table 4: Alcoholic beverage selection from the 30% of students who are drinking 56% 42% 23% Beer Mixed drinks Wine 2 hours), and 13% reported drinking so much that they threw up or lost control of their actions. Over 45% of youth who had tried alcohol had intentions to binge drink in the next 3 years. In the past 6 months, of the youth who had tried alcohol, 56% had consumed beer, 23% had consumed wine, and 42% had consumed mixed drinks (Table 4). This group, on average, drank 1-2 drinks during a typical day in which they drank alcohol. Over 62% of the grade 8 students in our survey had not yet tried drinking alcohol. This group reported that they were able to stay away from drinking because most of them were not offered alcohol very often either by their friends or in social settings. Many of the non-drinkers were not interested in drinking and felt that alcohol makes people do stupid things and can negatively affect their health. 9

10 marijuana Cannabis use is increasingly prevalent among youth in BC. National statistics for youth indicate that over 26% of youth 15 years and older have used marijuana in the past year. In the BASUS study, 13% of grade 8 students reported that they have tried marijuana (Table 5); this rate was slightly higher among boys than among girls. The students who had not tried marijuana (almost 90% of the sample) found it relatively easy to avoid using it, even though over 10% of them reported being offered marijuana by others. These students reported that they were not interested in using marijuana even when their friends were using it or if they were at a party where marijuana was being smoked. Many of the non-users who were not interested in marijuana reported that they didn t like the smell, believed that marijuana led their friends to do stupid things, or got in the way of their sports and fitness. Students cited the influence of the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, parents, and teachers as reasons that they were not interested in trying marijuana. 10

11 Table 5: Marijuana use among youth Never tried marijuana 87% Tried marijuana 13% Intends to try marijuana within the next 3 years 7% 11

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13 other drugs The most commonly used recreational drugs include crack or cocaine, speed, hallucinogens, ecstasy and heroin. In 2009, the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey reported the rate of using at least one of these five illicit drugs in the past 12 months at 5.5% among youth aged years. The grade 8 students in the BASUS study reported that painkillers, at 4.2%, were, after cannabis, the recreational drug most commonly tried (even just once), followed by hallucinogens (2%), ecstasy (2%), inhalants (1.8%), stimulants (1.5%), tranquillizers (1.2%), cocaine (1.2%), amphetamines (1.0%) and steroids (1.0%). Among those students who had used any of these drugs in the past 6-12 months, 15% had used cocaine, hallucinogens, or tranquillizers; 7.4% had used inhalants; and 17.4% had used MDMA (ecstasy) or stimulants. 13

14 Table 6: Harmful behaviours associated with alcohol and other substance use reported by students Riding in a car with someone who was high or had been drinking 15% Forgetting things done while under the influence of drugs or alcohol 8% Drinking to feel better about oneself 8% Getting into trouble 7% Using drugs or alcohol while alone 6% Table 7: Youth who reported being under the influence of alcohol the first time they used another substance 27% 29% 15% Cigarettes Marijuana Other drugs 14

15 problematic substance use Research has shown that the younger adolescents are when they start to drink, the more likely they will be to engage in behaviours that are harmful. Fifteen percent of youth in the BASUS sample reported riding in a car with a driver who was high or had been using drugs or alcohol. Eight percent of the youth reported that they forget things they did while using alcohol or drugs, and 7% reported getting into trouble while using drugs or alcohol. Some of the youth were starting to exhibit early signs of addiction such as using drugs or alcohol to relax and feel better about themselves (8%), and using alcohol or drugs when they were alone (8%) (Table 6). concurrent substance use Alcohol is a common precursor to drug use. Among the BASUS participants who smoked, 27% had tried their first cigarette after they had been drinking. Of those who had tried marijuana, 29% did so for the first time after they had been drinking, and 14.5% of those who had tried other drugs did so when they were already drinking (Table 7). When the youth were asked about their concurrent behaviours when they drank, almost 70% said they also smoked cigarettes, and more than one half said that they smoked more than they did when they were not drinking. When drinking, 20% often used marijuana at the same time, and 23% said they also used other drugs. 15

16 physical health & self-image Adolescence is an important time for mental health and development. This is a time when youth begin to realize their own abilities and begin to develop coping strategies for the normal stressors in life. Measuring self-esteem can tell us about how youth view themselves. Almost 90% of the BASUS students reported having a strong selfimage, feeling satisfied with themselves and feeling that they had several good qualities. Male students were less likely than female students to report mental health complaints, including anxiety (8% vs. 16%) or depression (9% vs. 15%). More boys than girls rated their physical health as excellent (36% vs. 31%). The boys were also less likely to report that they had physical complaints such as headaches in the last 6-12 months compared with girls (41% vs. 55%) (Table 8), and were less likely to report experiencing more than one complaint. stressful events Stressful events are a normal part of adolescence, but can also contribute to adolescents substance use. Commonly listed recent stressful events in the lives of the BASUS participants were having broken up with a girl/boy-friend (17%), moving to a new house (16%), having parents that divorced (7%), being involved with the police for the first time (6%), having been a victim of violence (6%), having sexual intercourse for the first time (4%), having a close friend or family member commit suicide (6%), and being expelled from school (1%) (Table 9). 16

17 Table 8: Percentage of youth reporting health problems Attention problems Infections Asthma Depression Anxiety Stomach problems Total Female Male Allergies Acne Headaches 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Table 9: Most common stressful life events Discovered having a sexually transmitted infection Discovered being an adopted child Expelled from school Lost first job Parent died Close friend committed suicide Family member committed suicide Sexual intercourse for the first time Involved with the police for the first time Were a victim of violence Parents separated or divorced Family moved to a new house Broke up with boyfriend/girlfriend 1% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 3% 4% 6% 6% 7% 16% 17% 17

18 Table 10: Percentage of students reporting cause-specific discrimination 8% 9% 3% Discrimation based on race Discrimination based on sexual orientation Discrimation based on physical, mental or learning disability school issues Feeling connected and safe in one s life, including at school, is an important aspect of adolescence and is linked to better physical and emotional health. Although most grade 8 students in the BASUS study reported feeling happy at school, a significant percentage reported not feeling close to people (15%) or not feeling happy at school (13.6%). Discrimination had surfaced for some; they reported being discriminated against because of their race (8%), their sexual orientation (3%), or another reason such as a physical, mental or learning disability (9%) (Table 10). Some students also indicated that they did not feel that they were treated fairly by their teachers (12%), would not feel comfortable approaching teachers for help (30%), and did not feel safe in their school (11%). academic aspirations Intention to graduate was high among the BASUS participants, with 87.3% feeling it was very likely that they would graduate and 10.8% 18

19 Table 11: Future plans for school among youth 28% 19% 17% 12% 2% Bachelor's degree Not really thought about it Technical school or diploma Specialized training No formal plan feeling it was fairly likely. When the students were asked about their future plans, 28% reported that they wanted to earn a Bachelor s degree, 17% wanted to go to a technical school or college to earn a diploma, 12% wanted to go to specialized training, 2% had no formal plan, and 19% had not really thought about it (Table 11). family Family socioeconomic status is an important determinant of health. The majority of the responding grade 8 students (82.3%) reported that they were in households with average or above average income. The students reported that over 70% of their mothers and 67% of fathers had completed some type of post-secondary education. Having positive adult role models is important for childhood resilience and success. The majority of the students (85%) indicated they had at least one adult in their life that they could look up to. 19

20 BASUS year 1 summary The results of the first year of this study indicate that a significant proportion of grade 8 students in the BASUS study were starting to experiment with drugs or alcohol. Approximately 13% had tried smoking, 31% had tried drinking alcohol, and just over 13% had tried marijuana. As these students move on to grade 9, some of them will begin to experience problems because of their substance use. Although many non-using students will continue to abstain from substance use, some will begin to experiment with substance use as they encounter the many stresses associated with adolescence and at the same are exposed to an increasing number of peers who are already using one or more of these substances. Once we have finished collecting data from the students during their grade 9 year, we will be able to start determining what factors influence teens decisions to avoid or experiment with tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. This information will enable us to start developing interventions that can be delivered over the internet to groups of teenagers who are at high risk for trying substances or progressing to using them on a regular basis. 20

21 What s new for BASUS year 2 Twelve additional schools joined the BASUS survey this past summer. We have also set up a Private BASUS Facebook Group that students can join to receive reminders about future surveys via Facebook messaging and have posted a video on YouTube that provides instructions on how students can adjust their personal privacy settings on Facebook (see watch?v=bdd1vyp98to). We are also working on developing a system that will enable students to sign up for survey reminders and messages via a cellular phone text messaging service. In response to many students requests for a selection of thank-you gift vouchers, we added the option for students to select a $25 online e-voucher for Amazon.ca or a $25 voucher in the form of a prepaid gift card from Visa, Future Shop, Tim Horton s, Subway Sandwiches or Walmart. 21

22 Dr. Chris G Richardson Co-principal Investigator Dr. Pamela A Ratner Co-principal Investigator Dr. Ken M Prkachin Co-investigator Dr. Joy L Johnson Co-investigator Lara Russell Research Manager We thank you for supporting this important research by allowing us to recruit students from your school. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about this study. Sincerely, the basus team 22

23 about basus The British Columbia Adolescent Substance Use Survey has been approved by all participating School Districts as well as by the Behavioural Research Ethics Board of the University of British Columbia and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grant # 86729). If you have questions about this project, please contact Lara Russell: basus.ca@ubc.ca telephone (toll free) address School of Population and Public Health 2206 East Mall Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3 Additional information can be found on our website: 23

24 bc adolescent substance use survey web: