Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jul 2006
Source: Columbia Valley Pioneer, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 The Columbia Valley Pioneer
Contact: http://www.columbiavalleypioneer.com/contact.html#letter
Website: http://www.columbiavalleypioneer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4207
Author: Carmen Thompson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE MAY BE OVERESTIMATED

As the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Worker at David Thompson Secondary 
School ( DTSS ), I take note of press coverage of youth issues, especially 
in the Columbia Valley.  In the last months, a number of community members 
have expressed concern about youth substance use. While I take heart in the 
level of care expressed by these individuals, I also wonder if a 
disproportionate amount of negative press has the potential to slant public 
perception in this area.

Much of my concern is based on something called social norms theory. This 
theory suggests that because peer groups exert a strong influence during 
adolescence there is a tendency for youth to make decisions about their 
behaviour based on their perceptions of social norms.  As a result, youth 
often consume drugs and alcohol in excess because they have exaggerated 
ideas about the amount their peers consume.

Adults reinforce this trend when they, in turn, overestimate and make 
generalizations about adolescent drug and alcohol use.  Research shows that 
public misperceptions tend to be media based, and that one of the best ways 
to counter them is through counter-marketing that provides accurate data on 
youth substance use.

So, with the hope of presenting an unbiased view of youth substance use 
issues in or community, I have pulled some statistics from a 2005 
Adolescent Drug Use Survey.  This survey, conducted by East Kootenay 
Addictions Services Society, shows the following trends among David 
Thompson Secondary students:

50.64% of DTSS students use alcohol less than once a month or not at all 
and 34.35% use alcohol 1-3 days a month.  Only 15.78% of DTSS students use 
alcohol once a week or more.

76.91% of DTSS students smoke marijuana less than once a month or not at 
all and 9.19% use marijuana 1-3 times a month.  Only 14.44% of students 
smoke marijuana 1-2 days a week or more.

The majority of students who have tried drugs or alcohol did so at a family 
celebration or out of curiousity rather than to fit in or feel better.

83.54% of DTSS students have never used mushrooms.

92.82% of DTSS students have never used cocaine or crack.

95.44% of DTSS students have never used LSD.

97.19% of DTSS students have never used ecstasy.

98.19% of DTSS students have never used crystal meth.

While the results of this study can be, and have been, interpreted in a 
number of different ways to support a number of different causes, one 
result is clear: the majority of students at DTSS do not abuse substances; 
they use them recreationally or not at all.

Having said this, I do not want to minimize the severe impact that drug and 
alcohol abuse has. The small minority of students who use substances on a 
regular basis report higher rates of the following: binge drinking, using 
in a vehicle, conflict with their parents, problems at school, unwanted or 
unplanned sexual activity, being charged with a crime, being a passenger in 
a vehicle with a driver who has been using alcohol or drugs, and having 
driven a vehicle after using alcohol or drugs.

It is clear that for adolescents who use substances regularly a healthy 
degree of concern and adequate resources are required.  The intent of this 
letter is not to minimize the harmful consequences of regular drug and 
alcohol use.

Rather, I am suggesting that the assumption that regular substance use is 
the norm, blinds us to its severe consequences, and inadvertently, inflates 
the amount youth choose to use.

Carmen Thompson

Invermere
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