Drug use among non-student youth.

Abstract

This report of the World Health Organizations Research and Reporting Project of Drug Dependence describes the questionnaire and methodology developed by an international research team for examining drug use among nonstudent youth populations. It also presents the results of the collaborative studies which used the questionnaire to study drug use in diverse nonstudent populations in Toronto Canada; Chandigarh India; Penang Malaysia; Mexico City Mexico; and Islamabad Pakistan. The task of developing the questionnaire was initiated at a meeting in 1977 when the research team recognized that drug use research among young people generally focused on student populations but that nonstudent youth appeared to be at higher risk of drug use than student populations. The questionnaire was designed to collect information on the etiology occurrence and pattern of drug use among out of school youth and included questions on social and demographic characteristics drug use problems experienced as a result of drug use needs assessment social aspects of drug use use of leisure time and perceived economic opportunities. Toronto was designated as the coordinating center for the collaborating studies. There was considerable variation in the sample populations. They included 1) a general population of 429 student and nonstudent youths with a mean age of 18.3 years (Toronto); 2) 2 general population and 4 occupational samples of 393 nonstudents with a mean age of 20.7 years (Chandigarh); 3) a sample of 360 known drug users with an average age of 20.2 years (Islamabad); 4) 90 workers at an electronics factory with a mean age of 21.0 years (Penang); and 5) a general population sample of 127 nonstudents between 12-18 years of age and a group of 42 nonstudents obtained by tracing friendship networks (Mexico City). Despite the wide variation in samples some general conclusions were reached concerning the results of the studies. The studies confirmed that ever use of drugs was higher in nonstudent populations than in student populations; however with the exception of the Chandigarh sample of known drug users most drug users were light users and few felt the need for treatment or reported problems stemming from drug use. The respondents were similar to other nonstudent populations in that they experienced a lack of job opportunities and of leisure time activities. Canabis was the most commonly used drug in all the samples except in India where the leading drug was opium. Factors associated with drug use included drug use by friends or relatives unemployment low participation in religious activities a low level of education family problems and medical problems. The findings suggest that the risk of drug use among nonstudents could be reduced by improving their quality of life. The questionnaire and the methodology developed by the research team was judged to be an effective tool for studying drug use among nonstudent populations. The reliability of the data was assessed by reinterviewing a portion of the sample at 3 centers. Reliability was quite high at 2 of the centers but low at the 3rd center. The appendix contains the questionnaire and instructions for using the instrument.