Torild Hammer

Use of Alcohol and Drugs in the Transitional Phase from Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

The results are based on a prospective longitudinal national survey of 2000 young adults, 19-22 years old, who participated in a postal survey in 1985 and 1987; 68 per cent answered both questionnaires. This paper is mainly based on the cross-sectional analysis of the data from 1987. The transitional period from adolescence to young adulthood had a significant impact on both alcohol consumption and use of cannabis. There was a higher alcohol consumption among those who had left their parental home. The consumption was lower among those who had established an adult social role with a partner. This effect was more important than occupation, income and age. The transition from adolescence to young adulthood also implies a high risk of unemployment, since this period involves leaving school and establishing a work role. We found that unemployment was positively related to alcohol consumption and the use of cannabis among men; while among women there was a negative relationship, which was found to be insignificant. Previously unemployed women consumed less alcohol than other women in education or in paid work. This could not be explained by unemployed women working as housewives - a social role associated with a low consumption of alcohol. The significant interaction effect between unemployment and gender, with respect to alcohol consumption, could probably be explained by selection to unemployment.

Alcohol-Related Problems in Young People: How are Such Problems Linked to Gender, Drinking Levels, and Cannabis Use?

This paper focuses on problems related to drinking, including interpersonal aggression, accidents and injuries, trouble with the police, and problems at school or work. The data stem from a representative, longitudinal survey of Norwegian youth aged 19 to 22 years at the first assessment and 25 to 28 at the last. Men reported more problems due to drinking, in both alcohol consumption and general problem proneness, than women. Furthermore, early age at first intoxication seemed to be a male-specific predictor of negative consequences of drinking. Cannabis users reported more alcohol-related problems than others. There was a substantial reduction in problems attributed to drinking between late adolescence and early adulthood, implying that little individual stability in such problems was found. Even so, multivariate analyses showed that alcohol-related problems before ages 19 to 22 were the most powerful predictor of similar problems 6 years later. Registered criminality, cannabis use, and low self-esteem also had a predictive power, but only for men.

Work is Not Enough: A Quasi-Experimental Study of a Vocational Training Programme for Young Drug and Alcohol Abusers

One hundred forty-one young substance abusers who participated in a vocational training programme were followed up with personal interviews five years later. Forty-six per cent completed one of three different vocational training careers for a minimum of three months. This group had a higher total work activity during the last three years before follow-up than those who dropped out of the programme. There was also a high positive correlation between this later work activity and reduction in substance abuse. This finding offers confirmation of the theory underlying vocational training. Work in the secondary labour market in itself was not found to be sufficient as a remedy to reduce substance abuse. Vocational training, however, may help clients develop the social skills they need on the secondary labour market.

Users and Nonusers within a High Risk Milieu of Cannabis Use. A General Population Study

A postal survey was carried out among a representative sample of nearly 2,000 young people in Norway (17-20 years old) in 1985, and followed up once again 2 years later. The sample was divided, according to the degree of exposure to cannabis in the peer milieu, into three groups: low, moderate, and high risk milieu. The differences between noncannabis users in high and in low risk milieux were the same as had been found in previous studies comparing users and nonusers of cannabis. The main differences between users and nonusers with a high risk milieu were that the users more often came from incomplete families and were men. All the differences between users and nonusers in the high risk milieu were small. This indicates that subsequent research should concentrate on the personality factors and social processes which encourage young people in the high risk milieu to resist the use of substances.

Further Course of Mental Health and Use of Alcohol and Tranquilizers After Cessation or Persistence of Cannabis Use in Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study

The main question addressed in this study is how cessation or persistence of cannabis use is related to use of legal drugs and mental health problems. In a longitudinal study a representative sample of young people in Norway, age 17–20 years (n = 1997), participated in a postal survey in 1985 and was followed up again in 1987 and 1989. The results showed a decrease in alcohol consumption among men both among those who ceased to use cannabis and those who continued their use, whereas among women who continued cannabis use the alcohol consumption increased. The use of tranquilizers was significantly reduced among those who ceased to use cannabis compared with those who continued cannabis use, while mental health problems were unchanged. The results indicate that use of tranquilizers for self medication is mainly related to a polydrug use in the cannabis using culture.

Cannabis Use in the General Population

Cannabis was not extensively used in the industrialized world until the late 1960s. Its introduction initiated a new trend in the use of illicit drugs, as a large proportion of the users were young, and they had a relatively high standard of living.1, 2, 3, 4, 5Cannabis also soon became an important ingredient of the hippie movement, signalizing a nonconformist lifestyle, a fight against oppression, and an increase in value of personal freedom. In general, the “cannabis culture” in the late 1960s and the 1970s appeared to promote an orientation toward the gentler and perhaps more “feminine” values of society. This may have had a special appeal to women. Also, as some of the initial values and attitudes related to cannabis involvement have remained relatively unchanged6, 7, 8, 9this may still be the case.

Psychopathology, Parent Relations, and Careers in Vocational Training: A Prospective Study

Twenty substance-abusing male clients, representative of the clients participating in a vocational training program in Oslo, were followed prospectively during 2-3 years. Forty-two percent of the nonpsychotic clients completed the training program as opposed to 25% in the psychotic/near psychotic group. All dropouts reported a feeling of being rejected by their fathers as opposed to 28% of the clients who completed the program (p less than .001). The study indicates the need for an evaluation of psychopathology and parent relationships before entering a vocational training program and development of a more differentiated training model.