An Overview of Drug Use Among Secondary School Students in South America Main Findings, May 2006

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An Overview of Drug Use Among Secondary
School Studentsin South America Main Findings,
May 2006
2006 NIDA International Forum June 16 19,
2006 Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Pernell Clarke Marya Hynes-Dowell Research
Specialists Inter-American Observatory on
Drugs CICAD
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Summary of Presentation

• Inter-American Drug Use Data System (SIDUC)
• Overview of the School Survey Methodology
• Results of comparative study
• Summary of main findings
• Conclusions and Policy implications

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Introduction to SIDUC

• SIDUC is a system that gathers data on the
  demand for and consumption of drugs
• It utilises a number of research protocols and
  instruments to collect uniform indicators on
  various aspects of the drug phenomenon
• It has been in existence for about 9 years
• It has been applied throughout the hemisphere in
  various population segments

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Objectives of SIDUC

• Gather cross-sectional data on drug users
• Gather longitudinal data
• Gather data that is comparable across countries
  and across time
• Provide statistics and other info for policy
  makers and program managers
• Continuously monitor the drug problem in the
  hemisphere

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Types of Protocols

• Household Survey
• Survey of Secondary School Students
• University Students
• Juvenile Offenders
• Patients in Treatment Centers
• Patients in Emergency Rooms

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Secondary School Survey - Objectives

• To estimate the prevalence of drug use in the
  student population
• To estimate the incidence of drug use in the
  student population
• Determine the age of first use, frequency of use
  and accessibility to drugs
• Find out the characteristics of consumers vs.
  Abstainers
• Determine level of knowledge about the effects of
  drugs

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Secondary School Survey Objectives (contd)

• To diagnose the problem of drug use among
  secondary school students
• To inform he planning and implementation of
  prevention programs
• To evaluate progress

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METHODOLOGY

• A representative sample of secondary school
  students is taken
• Self-administered questionnaire is used to
  collect data
• Data is entered and processed
• Univariate and bivariate analyses are performed
• Results are reported
• Ideally, this process is repeated every 2-3 years

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METHODOLOGY Contd

• Coverage
• National
• Regional (State or Province)
• Due to the differences in the age structure of
  the school population samples in the different
  countries, the prevalence rates were adjusted to
  a standard population.
• The results presented here differ slightly from
  the individual country findings, which is a
  product of the adjustment.

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Drug Use Among Students 14 - 17 years of age
South America
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MARIHUANA USE, PAST YEAR PREVALENCE, BY COUNTRY
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MARIHUANA IN STUDENTS 14 years and less, PAST
YEAR PREVALENCE, BY COUNTRY

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COCAINE USE, PAST YEAR PREVALENCE, BY COUNTRY
In Brazil this datum corresponds to cocaine and
coca paste
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ECSTASY, PAST YEAR PREVALENCE, BY COUNTRY
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INHALANT USE, PAST YEAR PREVALENCE, BY COUNTRY
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USE of Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription
Amphetamine and Methamphetamine type stimulants
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USE of Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription -
tranquilizers
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ALCOHOL USE, PAST MONTH PREVALENCE BY COUNTRY
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ALCOHOL Use, PAST MONTH PREVALENCE, 14 years or
less, By Country
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POLYDRUG CONSUMPTION
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PAST YEAR DRUG USE PREVALENCE, BY TYPE OF DRUG,
AND BY COUNTRY
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PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF DRUG USERS DURING THE
PAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF DRUGS USED, AND
BY COUNTRY
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Perception of Risk and Accessibility and its
association with drug use
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MAIN FINDINGS
Although the overall prevalence rates are similar
across multiple countries, the patterns of drug
use are peculiar to each country, There are
however commonalities that should be of concern
to all countries.
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MAIN FINDINGS

• Commonalities
• The level of alcohol use among secondary school
  youth is worrisome in every country,
• Often exceeds 50,
• Often Exceeds 30 in 14-year age group,
• As high as 20 secondary school students smoke
  tobacco,

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MAIN FINDINGS

• Differences
• The pattern of illicit drug use and inhalant use
  is peculiar to each country,
• Marihuana consumption is higher in Uruguay,
  Colombia, and Argentina,
• Cocaine use is higher in Argentina, Brazil and
  Colombia,
• Ecstasy consumption appears to be significant
  drug of abuse in Colombia, inhalants in Brazil.

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MAIN FINDINGS

• Marihuana consumption in Uruguay reflect a high
  percentage of users who use this drug
  exclusively,
• A similar pattern is found in Brazil with
  inhalants,
• Argentina and Peru are the countries that have
  the highest levels of polydrug use.
• Colombia shows measurable prevalence rates of
  almost all the different drugs

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CONCLUSION

• Although there are common concerns across
  countries
• There is no single drug use pattern that
  describes the region as a whole
• Need to examine with greater precision the
  reasons behind these differences legislation on
  pharmaceuticals, existence of prevention
  programs, cultural aspects, etc.

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Thank You! Muchas Gracias!
For more information, contact Marya Hynes
Dowell Program Officer Specialist in Drug Abuse
Research Inter-American Observatory on Drugs,
Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission Organization of American
States OID/CICAD/OAS mhynes_at_oas.org [phone]