Survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England

The Drug Education Forum29th July 2010

• Commissioned by the NHS Information Centre• additional funding from Home Office and Department

for Education (formerly DCSF)• NatCen and NFER since 2000 • new contract from 2010

• First carried out in 1982• smoking only• drinking questions added in 1988• drug questions added in 1998• annual surveys since 1998

Background

• Core questions every year• smoking behaviour, cigarettes smoked in last 7 days• drinking behaviour, alcohol drunk in last 7 days• 15 named drugs: awareness, access, use• attitudes, beliefs, sources of knowledge• classificatory questions

• Alternating focus• 2009: drug use• 2010: smoking and drinking alcohol

Questionnaire coverage

• Paper self-completion questionnaire• age appropriate • extensively tested• impact of design on estimates of prevalence

• Interviewer administered• minimal disturbance to schools and pupils• exam conditions• confidentiality• consistent protocol• repeat visits

Survey design

• 11 to 15 year olds (school years 7 to 11)• Probability sample

• 460 schools• c.35 pupils per school

• Response (2009)• 87% of pupils in 54% of schools• 7674 pupils in 247 schools

• Changes to design from 2010

Sample and response: 2009

• March-July: questionnaire development• May-June: sample drawn, schools and LAs

contacted• September-December: fieldwork• October-January: data capture, edit, cleaning• February-June: analysis• July: report published• August: data archived

Survey timing

• Outputs• descriptive report and tables

data sets provided to government users• access to data sets through ESRC Data Archive

• Use• estimates of prevalence• monitoring trends and targets• resource for teachers, practitioners, general public,

media• potential for secondary analysis

Outputs

• Change to sample design• 52 schools in each SHA

• Incentive for participating schools• New questions

• beliefs about drinking• proxy purchasing of cigarettes• exposure to others’ smoke• influences on smoking

• Emphasis on dissemination

SDD in 2010

• Decline since 1990s• ever smoked: 49% in 1996; 29% in 2009• regular smokers: 13% in 1996; 6% in 2009

• Girls more likely to smoke than boys• 7% of girls, 5% of boys are regular smokers

• Regular smokers in 2008 • 55% usually buy cigarettes from shops (78% in 2006)• 69% would find it hard not to smoke for a week• 64% would like to give up

Recent findings: smoking

• More common than smoking or drug use• Gradual decline in prevalence

• ever drunk alcohol: 61% in 2001; 51% in 2009• in last week: 26% in 2001; 18% in 2009

• High levels of reported consumption• Change in drinking patterns with age (2008)

• 11 year olds: with family, at home• 15 year olds: with friends, unsupervised or semi-

supervised

• Acceptability among young people and parents

Recent findings: drinking alcohol

• Decline since 2001• ever: 29% in 2001; 22% in 2009• in the last year: 20% in 2001; 15% in 2009

• Which drugs?• cannabis (11% ever, 9% in last year)• gas, glue, aerosols, solvents (13% ever, 5% in last

year)

• Trends since 2001• cannabis (in the last year) down from 13% to 9%• ever been offered drugs: from 42% in 2001 to 33% in

2009

Recent findings: prevalence of drug use

• Relatively infrequent• 28% once only• 64% less often than once a month• differs with type of drug

• Vulnerable pupils (truants and excludees)• more likely to have taken a Class A drug in the last

year• more likely to take drugs once a month or more

• General disapproval by young people and parents

Recent findings: patterns of drug use

• Cannabis (9% in the last year)• 27% once only: 28% 10+ times• median age = 15• 43% have also taken another type of drug in the last year

• Volatile substances (5% in the last year)• 34% once only; 16% 10+ times• median age = 14• 36% have also taken another type of drug in the last year

• Different contexts and experiences

Cannabis and volatile substances

SDD: common themes

• Prevalence increases with age: at age 15,• 81% have drunk alcohol, 38% in the last week• 52% have smoked, 20% in the last week• 40% have tried drugs, 17% in the last month

• Related to other risk behaviours• overlap between SDD• higher among truants, excludees

• Family influence• attitudes• behaviour (smoking, drinking)

• Robust sample• probability methods at school and pupil level• size and response• representative of all 11 to 15 year olds in England

• Scope of questionnaire• Established time series• Accessible

• reported in full• data archived

SDD: key strengths

• Response rate• Measurement issues

• alcohol consumption • volatile substance use

• Unmet needs• data linkage• follow-up surveys• robust classificatory data

• Funding

SDD: concerns

Further information

• Most recent reports• 2009: focus on drug use

www.ic.nhs/pubs/sdd09fullreport • 2008: focus on smoking and drinking alcohol

www.ic.nhs/pubs/sdd08fullreport

• Contactelizabeth.fuller@natcen.ac.uk