Parent drug education is considered a key aspect of drug prevention. Effective communication acts as protective factor for drug misuse in young people. This study is a Participatory Action Research study of "Drugsbridge", a drug education programme that has an emphasis on facilitating intergenerational communication about drugs between parents and…

Over the last five years, the announced new policy on drugs, cannabis in particular, has been the subject of much debate within the Belgian Federal Government and between the government and the opposition parties. Unclear policies and poor public communication from the Federal Government, the competent minister and the other parties caused immense…

Aims: The use of licit and illicit drugs is considered to be primarily a male problem. Numerous studies, however, question the extent of gender differences. This article reports on last 30 day drug use and related problem behaviour among male and female youth prior to residential treatment. Methods: Self-report data were collected from 95 male and…

It is now common for young people in full-time compulsory education to hold part-time jobs. However, while the 1990s experienced a rise in illicit drug use particularly among young people and an increase in the level of interest in identifying factors associated with drug use, little attention has been paid to the influence of the money young…

Aims: This paper explores young people's own opinions about how the "drinking to get drunk" culture can be changed. More precisely, the two objectives of this study were to explore: (1) whether young people viewed binge drinking as a real "problem"; and (2) what they thought could be done to reduce binge drinking. Methods: Forty in-depth…

The study purpose was to test the effect of a school- and home-based alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) prevention program on reducing environmental, parent, and child risk factors for ATOD use. The design was a three-group pretest-posttest with interviews at baseline and 1 and 6 months post-intervention. The sample was 126 parents and their…

Aims: Schools have emerged as a key site for prevention and early intervention strategies for antisocial behaviour. This paper examines teacher perspectives of the scope within their day-to-day practice for the implementation of monitoring and management of student risk status for substance misuse. Methods: Teacher perspectives of early…

This paper explores the ways in which pre-teenage children try to avoid coming into contact with illegal drugs and then examines the factors and circumstances that facilitate or impede their efforts to achieve this. Their main strategy of avoiding certain groups or individuals was complicated by the fluid nature of young people's social groups and…

The families of drug users are often overlooked in the planning and delivery of services. This paper is based on interviews with parents of heroin users and staff from a support agency that worked with families affected by drug use. Findings highlight the devastation parents experienced in learning that their child was using heroin, and the…

This paper uses an integrated model of behavior change to predict intentions to use marijuana occasionally and regularly in a US-based national sample of male and female 12 to 18 year olds (n = 600). The model combines key constructs from the theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory. The survey was conducted on laptop computers, and…

The aim of this study was to carry out a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on drug-use prevention with vulnerable young people. A search of electronic databases was conducted to find evaluations of prevention programmes targeted at high-risk young people and including illegal drug use as an outcome measure. Sixteen relevant…

The lifestyles of young people excluded from school have received much attention recently, particularly in relation to illicit drug use. Commentators have acknowledged that they constitute a high-risk group to social disaffection and substance abuse. This paper reports on a group of 48 young people living in Belfast aged 13-14 years who are…

Two hundred regular users of illegal drugs, aged 16-20, were recruited by peers in ten further education colleges across inner London. Data collected by self-completion questionnaire are presented on patterns of cigarette, alcohol, cannabis, stimulant and other drug use among White, Black and Asian ethnic groups. Multiple and logistic regression…

In recent years, there has been increasing concern over rising levels of alcohol and cannabis use among young people. This paper reports findings from a qualitative investigation of young people's cannabis-related beliefs and behaviour. Fifty-nine boys and girls aged 13 to 15 years were interviewed, mostly in self-selected friendship pairs, in six…

This paper reports findings from a qualitative study examining young people's perceived motivations for "binge drinking", and the associated harmful outcomes. Sixty-four, in-depth, one-to-one interviews were carried out with 14 to 17 year olds in southern England who had experience of binge drinking. Given the underage sample, most of this…