Risk and Protection Factors for Substance Use Among Young People: A Comparative Study of Early School Leavers and School Attending Students

This comparative study of early school-leavers and school-attending students looking at the risk and protection factors for substance use was undertaken in line with Action 98 of the National Drugs Strategy 2001–2008, which required the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) to carry out research on ‘at risk groups’ including early school-leavers. It 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 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.