This report presents the results of a study of substance use among young people in Ireland based on information collected in 2008 during face-to-face interviews with 991 people, aged between 15 and 18. The target population comprised school-attending students and young people who, having left school, were attending either a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre. This latter population is described in this study as “early school-leavers” and represents approximately 12% of the full annual cohort of early school-leavers. This is therefore one of the largest studies ever undertaken on substance use among young people in Ireland, and differs from other studies in two important ways. First, whereas previous studies on substance use in this section of the population focused almost exclusively on young people attending school, this study aims specifically to explore the factors associated with substance use among those who left school early. Secondly, the study aims to identify the risk and protective factors that influence young people’s decisions regarding substance use. The study thus emphasises the underlying conditions for and dynamics of substance use with a view to identifying factors that could be addressed through appropriate policies. In pursuing these two objectives, considerable emphasis is placed on comparing the respective risk and protective factors across the two groups: those who have left school early and are now either attending a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre, and those who are still attending school. The analysis identifies a limited number of highly significant risk and protective factors that can increase or decrease the risk of using substances among 15 to 18-year-olds in Ireland. When attention is focused on those factors that are amenable to change, the most important conclusion is that both the family (the young person’s parents above all) and the educational institution can have a major impact on this decision.

Risk and Protection Factors for Substance Use Among Young People

PRATSCHKE, Jonathan
2010-01-01

Abstract

This report presents the results of a study of substance use among young people in Ireland based on information collected in 2008 during face-to-face interviews with 991 people, aged between 15 and 18. The target population comprised school-attending students and young people who, having left school, were attending either a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre. This latter population is described in this study as “early school-leavers” and represents approximately 12% of the full annual cohort of early school-leavers. This is therefore one of the largest studies ever undertaken on substance use among young people in Ireland, and differs from other studies in two important ways. First, whereas previous studies on substance use in this section of the population focused almost exclusively on young people attending school, this study aims specifically to explore the factors associated with substance use among those who left school early. Secondly, the study aims to identify the risk and protective factors that influence young people’s decisions regarding substance use. The study thus emphasises the underlying conditions for and dynamics of substance use with a view to identifying factors that could be addressed through appropriate policies. In pursuing these two objectives, considerable emphasis is placed on comparing the respective risk and protective factors across the two groups: those who have left school early and are now either attending a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre, and those who are still attending school. The analysis identifies a limited number of highly significant risk and protective factors that can increase or decrease the risk of using substances among 15 to 18-year-olds in Ireland. When attention is focused on those factors that are amenable to change, the most important conclusion is that both the family (the young person’s parents above all) and the educational institution can have a major impact on this decision.
2010
9781406423136
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/3015993
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