November 2007

 

Alcohol and Youth Trends … just in time for Drug Awareness Week

A recent survey of over 1,000 teenagers and 550 parents reaffirmed that teenagers who ate dinner five or more times a week as a family, were less likely to use drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol than peers who ate with their families twice a week or less.

These results coincide with findings from a report released this month through the Alcohol Policy Network. Alcohol and Youth Trends: Implications for Public Health states children and youth who have open communication with their parents and receive consistent rules and enforcement are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviour, including alcohol use and misuse.

The effects of a positive family environment on drinking choices is just one focus of the report which also looks at factors such as peer influence, community and school influence, availability and access to alcohol, attractive advertising and promotion, mental health issues, and socio-economic status. These factors are analysed using the latest research to help address a seemingly simple, yet complex topic — why some youth drink and some don't.

The report also looks at trends in Canada and Ontario including age of onset and gender differences, while outlining some of the consequences experienced through underage drinking including intentional (violence, suicide) and unintentional (motor vehicle crashes, physical illness, depression) harms.

"This paper calls for an increased focus on supporting youths' educational and career goals, individual resiliency, and positive relationships between their peers, parents and teachers," says Rebecca Fortin, lead author of the report. "In order for solutions to be creative, innovative and ultimately more effective, interventions must be tailored to the differing needs in this vastly diverse population we call 'youth'," concludes Fortin.

Alcohol and Youth Trends: Implications for Public Health incorporates feedback from experts in public health and the substance abuse prevention field while confirming study data through youth key informants. The comprehensive report concludes with sound recommendations for public health practice.

These recommendations are consistent with the recent report titled Substance Abuse in Canada: Youth in Focus, commissioned by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. The report identifies four potential areas for action to deal with substance use and abuse among youth including:

1. Matching services to age and stage;
2. Implementing effective services;
3. Preparing professionals; and
4. Continuing to develop knowledge.

"Targeting the underlying risk and protective factors associated with substance abuse has the potential to reduce other negative behaviour, including criminal and violent behaviour", said CCSA's Chief Executive Officer, Michel Perron. The CCSA report, Substance Abuse in Canada: Youth in Focus can be downloaded from their website, under "New and Interesting".

These reports are being released just in time for Drug Awareness Week (DAW) - November 19 to 25 - a week dedicated to the awareness of substance use issues in schools across the province. Drug Awareness Committees (DACs), supported through the Ontario Drug Awareness Partnership, raise awareness of alcohol and other drugs in their communities through activities and programs. The focus of DAW over the last few years has been the TALK campaign — educational materials on alcohol and drugs encouraging communication, with the underlying premise that "talking about the little things makes talking about the big things easier."

This years' bilingual campaign makes the connection between alcohol and other drugs, injury prevention and chronic disease. For further information please contact the program coordinator, Bev Woods, at odapprograms [at] rogers.com.

OPHA Annual Conference: Public Health: Who's at risk? What’s at stake?

If you haven't already, you need to register for the Ontario Public Health Association’s annual conference. This year the conference is co-sponsored with Toronto Public Health and the program is built around the theme "Public Health: Who's at risk? What's at stake?" This theme reflects broad challenges that cut across the diverse disciplines within our sector and provides an open-ended inquiry into the pressing issues we face every day in our work. The conference program committee has identified five sub-themes as topic areas to be explored by keynote speakers and participants in workshops, poster sessions and presentations.

Please visit their website for further information and registration details. The last day to register online is Friday, November 9th.