Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS): drug use report 2018

6 Risk factors and protective factors

The charts in this chapter show the proportion of pupils who had used drugs in the last month among different subgroups of 13 and 15 year olds. For example, the first chart in Figure 6.1 shows that 5% of 13 year olds and 17% of 15 year olds who live with a single parent used drugs in the last month.

Family

A number of aspects of family life were associated with drug use in the month before the survey. These were: who you live with; maternal awareness; paternal awareness; family communication and caring responsibilities (Figure 6.1).

Who you live with

Among 13 year olds, those living with a single parent were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who lived with both parents (there was no statistically significant difference between those living with a step-parent and both parents), while among 15 year olds, those living with either a single or step parent were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who lived with both parents.

Maternal and paternal awareness

All pupils were asked 'How much does your mother really know about…': 'Who your friends are?'; 'How you spend your money?'; 'Where you are after school?'; 'Where you go at night?'; and 'What you do in your free time?'. For each, pupils were asked whether they thought their mother knew 'a lot', 'a little' or 'nothing'. A composite score for maternal awareness was calculated. The same questions were asked to establish their father's awareness.

Among both age groups, drug use in the last month was higher among those who thought that their mother knew a below average amount about what they do and who they are with. The same pattern emerged for father's perceived knowledge of activities, although to a slightly lesser degree.

Family communication

Across both age groups, those that said they would be likely to talk to their family if they felt worried about something were less likely to have taken drugs in the last month than those who would not.

Caring responsibilities

Among both age groups, those with caring responsibilities were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who did not.

Figure 6.1 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by factors relating to family life and age (2018)

Figure 6.1 – continued – Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by factors relating to family life and age (2018)

Base: all pupils (for full base sizes please see Appendix B)

Friends and leisure activities

Aspects of a pupil's social life were also associated with having used drugs in the last month. These were: number of close friends; age of friends; number of evenings spent out with friends; and amount of own cash to spend (Figure 6.2).

Number of friends

Pupils with no close friends were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who had one or more close friends.

Age of friends

Pupils with mostly older friends were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who had younger friends or friends about the same age. Among 15 year olds, having friends of mixed ages was also associated with a higher likelihood of using drugs in the last month, but this was not the case among 13 year olds.

Number of evenings spent out with friends

The greater the number of evenings pupils spent out with friends in a week, the greater the likelihood that they had used drugs in the last month.

Amount of own cash to spend

Pupils with more money of their own to spend were more likely to have used drugs in the last month.

Leisure activities

Among 15 year olds, pupils who had never used drugs were more likely than those who had used drugs in the last month to regularly play sports, read books, do a hobby or volunteer. In contrast, with the exception of reading magazines and going to church, 15 year olds who had used drugs in the last month were more likely than those who had never used drugs to take part in all other activities (Figure 6.3).

Figure 6.2 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by factors relating to friendships and age (2018)

Base: all pupils (for full base sizes please see Appendix B)

Figure 6.3 Percentage of 15 year old pupils reporting taking part in leisure activities at least weekly, by drug use status (2018)

Q. Here is a list of things that young people sometimes do in their free time, when they aren't at school. What about you?

Base: all 15 year olds (for full base sizes please see Appendix B)

School

Factors relating to a pupils' engagement with school had a strong relationship with drug use. The more engaged a pupil was with school the less likely they were to have used drugs in the last month. The main factors were: enjoying school; feeling pressured by schoolwork; exclusion from school; and truanting (Figure 6.4). Post-school expectations were also related to drug use in the last month.

Enjoying school

Pupils who didn't like school were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who did like school.

Feeling pressured by schoolwork

At age 13 those who felt pressured by schoolwork a lot of the time or who never felt pressured were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who only sometimes felt pressured.

However, among 15 year olds, those who never felt pressured were substantially more likely to have used drugs in the last month.

Exclusion from school

Pupils who had been excluded from secondary school were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who had not been excluded. 13 year olds who had been excluded were five times more likely to have used drugs in the last month than 13 year olds who had not been excluded, while 15 year olds who had been excluded were more than twice as likely to have used drugs in the last month than 15 year olds who had not been excluded.

Truanting

Truancy was strongly correlated with drug use in the last month. Among both age groups, the more frequently a pupil truanted, the more likely they were to have used drugs in the last month.

Post-school expectations

Among both age groups (although to a lesser extent at age 13), those that said they expected to go to university after school were less likely to have reported using drugs in the last month than those who did not expect to go to university. Among 15 year olds, drug use in the last month was particularly prevalent among those who thought they would complete an apprenticeship after they leave school.

Figure 6.4 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by school variables and age (2018)

Figure 6.4 – continued – Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by school variables and age (2018)

Base: all pupils (for full base sizes please see Appendix B)

Inequalities

Inequalities related to health and wellbeing had a stronger relationship with drug use in the last month than deprivation. The main factors were: self-rated health; whether a pupil had an illness or disability; emotional and behavioural problems; and mental wellbeing (Figure 6.5).

Self-rated health

Among both age groups, pupils who rated their health as 'bad' were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who rated their health as 'good'.

Long-term illness or disability

Pupils who said they had a long-term illness or disability were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those who did not.

Emotional and behavioural problems

Emotional and behavioural problems are assessed through the "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire" (SDQ) in SALSUS^[9]. The questionnaire contains 5 scales: emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity problems, peer problems and pro-social behaviour. The SDQ score is a composite measure derived from the first 4 scales listed and provides an overall indicator of emotional and behavioural problems.

Pupils with borderline or abnormal scores for emotional wellbeing and behavioural conduct were more likely to have used drugs in the last month.

Mental wellbeing

Mental wellbeing is assessed in SALSUS using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). This is a scale of 14 positively worded items, with five response categories per item. The scale is scored by summing the response to each item answered on a 1 to 5 Likert scale. The minimum scale score is 14 and the maximum is 70. The higher a respondent's score, the better their mental wellbeing.

Among both age groups, those with a below average score for mental wellbeing were more likely to have used drugs in the last month than those with an average or above average score.

Area deprivation^[10]

Area-based deprivation is assessed using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). This is used to provide an indication of material disadvantage in individual pupils.

Among both age groups there was no relationship between using drugs in the last month and SIMD.

Figure 6.5 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by inequalities and age (2018)

Figure 6.5 – continued – Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by inequalities and age (2018)

Base: all pupils (for full base sizes please see Appendix B)