What factors influence drug taking?

The results of research carried out by Philip Hewitt (RE and Health Education Adviser, NEELB; vice-chairman, NIACT)

To answer the research question, 'Does parenting style influence adolescent drug behaviour?', a forty-seven item questionnaire was administered to 225 Year 12 pupils in the four post-primary schools in a town known to have a drug presence. The questions were intended to elicit each pupil's perception of the parenting skills evident in his/her family.

The factor analysis grouped the items into five factors of which three were significantly related to the adolescents' drug behaviour - Family Values (at the 1% level), Parental Guidance and Parental Egocentricity (both at the 5% level). Family Closeness and Excessive Parenting had no significant influence on teenage drug use.

Twelve questionnaire items reached significance in relation to the pupils' drug behaviour, including the religious practices of the family, the smoking and excessive drinking of the parents, having a dominant mother who spoils her son, having close friends who take drugs and not discussing problems together as a family.

Young people whose mother had remarried were twice as likely to take drugs as teenagers living with both their natural parents or only their mother. Girls and boys were almost equally likely to take drugs, although boys were more likely to take them more frequently, and there were different gender trends in the types of drugs preferred. Pupils from the grammar school were less likely to take drugs, took fewer drugs per head and on fewer occasions than their secondary peers.

These results highlight possible components of a drug prevention programme for adolescents and their parents.

The Results

The question behind the research was, 'Does the way children are raised affect the likelihood that they will take or refuse drugs?'

The results that came out of the anonymous questionnaire survey of 225 fifth year pupils in the four Antrim post-primary schools were as follows:

- 80 of the 225 pupils (36%) had taken illegal drugs.

- The number who had taken specific drugs were as follows: 
	  

- 34 of the pupils had only tried one drug experimentally (ie less than 5 times)

- 22 of the pupils had tried more than one drug on an experimental basis.

- 24 of the pupils had taken drugs on a regular basis i.e. weekly or daily.

- 33 pupils had taken one drug; 20 had taken two drugs; 9 had taken three 10 had taken four; 1 had taken 5; 3 had taken 6 and 2 had taken more than six.

The 45 questions were analysed by computer and it was discovered that they fell into five groups all having a common theme. The five groups or factors were called the Family Closeness factor, Family Values, Parental Guidance, Excessive Parenting and Parental Egocentricity.

The factor that influenced the young person's drug-taking most was the Family Values group of questions. Seven of the questions were statistically significant in affecting the teenagers' drug use. Those that had never taken drugs:

- went to church;
- had parents who went to church weekly;
- had never seen their parents drunk;
- had parents who didn't smoke;
- didn't have close friends who took drugs.
- believed that taking drugs was wrong;
- believed that prayer was important in their family;

The other two factors that affected the adolescents' drug use were Parental Guidance and Parental Egocentricity.

The questions that significantly affected drug taking in the Parental Guidance factor showed that young people who didn't take drugs:

- belonged to families who discussed its problems with each other
- had had discussions with their parents about drugs
- had parents who wanted to know who they were going out with and where, when they went out.

The other questions that were shown to significantly affect the pupils' drug use indicated that pupils who had taken drugs:

- didn't sit down and discuss differences of opinion with their parents and try to sort things out together;
- had mothers who spoilt them;
- had mothers who liked to get her own way in the house;
- didn't feel loved by their parents.

There was little difference in the number of girls and boys who took drugs. But there was a trend in the type of drugs they took. Boys tended to go more for the stimulant type of drugs ie ecstasy, amphetamines and poppers, while girls tended to go for the 'legal' drugs ie magic mushrooms and solvents.

Boys were much more likely than girls to take drugs on a weekly or daily basis.

The pupils were asked 'Who would you go to for advice if you had a problem with alcohol or drugs?'.

The results were as follows:

The two big differences between the genders is that boys are nearly equally to go to their parents and peers, whereas girls are much more likely to go to peers, and boys are much more likely than girls to go to no-one.

Children of mothers who have remarried are more likely to take drugs than those living with both natural parents or with their mothers only.