Bruce Flaherty

Substance use in high school students in New South Wales, Australia, in relation to language spoken at home

PURPOSE To examine for the first time adolescent substance use by ethnicity, given the high proportion of migrants from non-English-speaking countries in New South Wales, (NSW), Australia. METHODS Data from four surveys of NSW secondary school students in 1983, 1986, 1989, and 1992 were used for this analysis. The prevalence of substance use by whether English was spoken at home was stratified by sex and age using data from the most recent survey year. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were produced by simultaneous logistic regression, adjusting for sex, age group, and the interaction term of sex and age for each of these substances, and for each survey year separately. Data from 1989 and 1992 were pooled together to examine rates of substance use by ethnic subgroups which reflect migration patterns. RESULTS The prevalence of smoking and alcohol and illicit drug use was consistently lower among NSW adolescents speaking a language other than English at home, compared with those speaking English at home in all survey years. Only the prevalence of solvent sniffing was higher among younger adolescents speaking a language other than English at home. Students from Southeast Asia showed consistently lower rates of usage of all substances compared to all other groups. CONCLUSIONS There may be different opportunities for the prevention of adolescent substance use among native English speakers to be gained from non-English-speaking cultures.

Substance use and socio-demographic factors among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students in New South Wales

Objective: To estimate prevalence rates of substance use and associated socio‐demographic factors among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) secondary students.

Policing pubs: what happens to crime?

The aim of this study was to test the effect of heightened police enforcement of the NSW Liquor and Registered Clubs Acts on overall criminal offences and, specifically, the number of assaults. Ten police patrols were included in the study. Five of these patrols were allocated to the experimental condition and five were allocated to the control condition. Beat police in the experimental controls conducted frequent but random visits to predesignated licensed premises over a 2-month period. Police in the control patrols maintained their normal duties. Numbers of offences in the experimental and control patrols were then compared for 2 months before the intervention, for the 2-month intervention phase and for 2 months post-intervention. Results of the study indicated a significant increase in the number of offences in the experimental patrols during the intervention phase. Reasons for this increase are discussed.

Knowledge and use of alcohol and other drugs among Vietnamese-speaking migrants.

A survey of the Vietnamese community in Sydney was conducted in 1992 to determine whether it was at a higher or lower risk of drug-related harm than the general community. Data was collected on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour associated with alcohol and other drug use and compared with overall NSW figures. The sample of 341 Vietnamese-speakers aged 15-65 years was obtained by face-to-face interviews conducted in private households using a cluster sampling technique. Of the sample, 72% indicated they did not speak English well or at all. Recognition of tobacco and alcohol as drugs and the specific health and social problems associated with use was much lower among the Vietnamese-speakers than the general community. Compared with the general community (1991 NCADA Household Survey), reported use of tobacco on the day of the survey among Vietnamese-speakers was higher among men (37% versus 26%) but much lower among women (4% versus 22%). Reported use of other drugs such as alcohol, analgesics, minor tranquillizers and illicit drugs was lower than in the general community. It is recommended that the low level of knowledge of the health and social problems associated with tobacco and alcohol in particular should be addressed by community-based education programmes.

Illicit drug use by young people in Sydney: results of a street intercept survey

To complement existing institution-based drug use surveys, a street intercept survey of 581 young illicit drug users was conducted in Sydney, Australia. Patterns of use, reasons for use and awareness of the health risks associated with use were investigated. The most commonly used illicit drug type, after marijuana, was amphetamines. The least popular illicit drug was heroin. Most of the sample used occasionally, exhibiting a controlled pattern of use with a low prevalence of problems associated with use. Heroin users, in contrast, were often frequent users and reported a higher prevalence of associated problems. The majority of the sample reported excessive drinking patterns, indicating that the current policy of emphasis on alcohol misuse rather than illicit drug use amongst youth is appropriate.

The Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) Pilot Program: Court Outcomes and Recidivism

Abstract Diversion programs for drug offenders have proliferated in the last decade in the belief that treatment of underlying drug use will decrease an individuals criminal activity. The NSW Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) program diverts adult offenders with significant drug problems, on bail, from the court to a 3-month intensive drug treatment program. This article reports on the criminal justice outcomes of the Lismore MERIT Pilot Program. Findings indicate that participants who completed the program were significantly less likely to reoffend, took longer to reoffend and received less severe sentences than those who did not complete the program. The reduction in reoffending is significantly associated with program completion even when other factors associated with recidivism are controlled for, including previous incarceration. Overall these findings contribute to the growing literature indicating that providing treatment for offenders with illicit drug problems can be an effective crime reduction strategy.

The Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) Pilot Program: A Descriptive Analysis of a Court Diversion Program in Rural Australia

Abstract There has been a rapid expansion of drugs courts and diversion programs in Western countries, with the aim of diverting drug offenders into treatment. This study presents data from a rural pre-plea court-based diversion into treatment program for adult defendants appearing at a Local (Magistrates) Court who have significant illicit drug problems. Unusual features include the intended duration of treatment (three months), and the emphasis on specialised caseworkers, who provide case management services, intensive individual counseling and group therapy sessions, and attend court, providing detailed legal reports. In the first two years, 238 participants were recruited to 266 program episodes. The participants were mostly recidivist offenders, with 61% having been previously imprisoned, and 85% having at least one prior conviction. Half the participants completed the program. Characteristics significantly associated with program completion were principal drug of concern (heroin/amphetamines vs. cannabis/other, OR = 0.4 |95% CI: 0.2, 0.7|), Aboriginality (Aboriginal vs. not, OR = 0.4 |95% CI: 0.2, 0.9|) and accommodation (privately owned vs. other, OR = 2.5 |95%CI: 1.3, 4.7|). Participants identified the caseworker support as the most important element of the program. We conclude that the program was successfully implemented, and that adequately supported skilled caseworkers were critical to its success.

ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS USAGE AMONGST ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA

There is limited information available on alcohol and other drug use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. This paper describes results of a population-based survey conducted in New South Wales schools in 1989 and 1992. The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was 2.9%. After adjusting for age and gender, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander students were 2.4 times more likely to smoke daily, 2.2 times more likely to drink frequently, 2.3 times more likely to use cannabis and 1.9 times more likely to use inhalants. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were 1.7 times more likely to be living with their mother only, 2.3 times with their father only, and 3.1 times more likely to be living with a single parent and with somebody else. They were 1.3 times more likely to miss whole school days for health reasons and 1.7 times more likely to miss school for other reasons. These findings do suggest that in New South Wales, Aboriginal drug use in early adolescence is common. More systematic and reliable research is needed, in longitudinal studies in particular. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Senior Research Officer, Epidemiology Unit, South Western Sydney Area health Service, 5 Byrnes Avenue, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089, Australia. VOL. 10, NO. 1,1998 39 40 R. FORERO, A. BAUMAN, J. CHEN, AND B. FLAHERTY

The Evaluation of Australia's National Campaign against Drug Abuse:

The process of evaluating the Australian National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) is described. The campaign consists of activities in education, treatment, research and legislative controls. Because of the complex nature of the campaign, a range of evaluation activities was used, including activity monitoring, process and outcome evaluations and the establishment of an expert task force to undertake an assessment of the overall impact of the first three years of the campaign. The conduct of the task forces approach is described and some positive and negative lessons are discussed.

Compulsory treatment of alcoholism: the case against.

The need for compulsory detention in the management of alcohol-dependent persons is reviewed with a particular focus on legislation in New South Wales (NSW). It is argued that there is no justification for the severe loss of civil liberties in order to provide a general power of involuntary alcoholism treatment since such treatment is basically ineffective and in any case little treatment is actually given to those detained. The selective operation of the NSW Inebriates Act (in terms of class and race biases) is noted. The special circumstances of those who suffer severe alcohol-related brain damage and those who are in acute life-threatening circumstances are discussed. It is suggested that these cases are adequately covered by existing Mental Health and Guardianship legislation, obviating the need for special legislation such as an Inebriates Act.