An examination of youth alcohol and drug use in Prince Albert.

Abstract

Information obtained from the Prince Albert Police Service and addictions services agencies show that a high number of Prince Albert youth come into contact with the police for substance abuse and referrals for youth alcohol and drug treatment are much higher than in other Saskatchewan health regions. This study examines data collected from a survey of 921 Prince Albert public high school students conducted in June 2012 to shed light on youth alcohol and drug use. The results showed that Prince Albert youth used alcohol, marijuana, illicit drugs, and binge drank at much higher rates than samples of Saskatchewan or Canadian youth who were asked the same questions. In addition, the age of onset for substance use was earlier for Prince Albert youth compared to the Saskatchewan or national samples. Logistic regression analyses revealed that age was the only consistent predictor of alcohol, marijuana, binge drinking, and illicit drug use, although the validity of those analyses was limited by the limited number of predictor variables. Other key findings were that Aboriginal youth were at higher risk of using marijuana in the previous 12 months and using illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime. Furthermore, having lower school connectedness predicted alcohol use and binge drinking in the prior year. It is expected that the knowledge gained from this research will provide evidence of the scope of youth substance abuse to policy makers and program providers and that this information will be used to improve services to the youth population.