Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among Victorian secondary school students, 1992

In 1985 a study of drug use patterns and attitudes amongst secondary school students was conducted by the Health Department of Victoria. The objectives of the study were to identify the current alcohol and drug use patterns of Victorian secondary school students and to look at the relationship between substance use and a number of social and personal indicators. The results were used to assist in determining the appropriate delivery of existing intervention programs and for the development and targeting of future programs. This study was repeated in 1989 and 1992 to identify changes over time, if any, in patterns of usage and attitudes, thus helping to evaluate the effectiveness of established drug programs. Students were asked about their use of the following drugs - steroids, inhalants, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and in particular, cigarettes/tobacco, alcohol, pain killers, tranquillisers, and marijuana. Questions included at what age the respondent first tried the drug, how often they used the drug, the source of the drug and what effect the drug had on them. Opinions on the use of drugs (e.g. how dangerous they believed use of a particular drug was) were also sought as was the source of their information on drugs and their effects. Background variables included sex, age, place of birth, the year level at school the respondent was currently in, whether the respondent was an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and if more than one language was spoken at home.