Barbados National Primary School Survey 2020:Drug Use & Related Issues Among the Primary School Population

Laura Foster

Survey Coordinator/NCSA Research Assistant

National Council on Substance Abuse

October 5, 2020

Presentation Outline

• Survey background

• Methodology

• Data analysis

• Key findings

• Trend analysis

• Conclusions & Recommendations

Survey Background

• The Barbados National Primary School Survey 2020 is the 3rd of its kind to be conducted in Barbados

• Previous surveys were conducted in 2006 and 2009

• Prevalence survey - Primarily focused on the levels of drug use among Class 3 & Class 4 students enrolled at public & private primary schools across Barbados

• Also examined: • Common drug sources

• Locations of use

• Age of first use

• Factors associated with drug use

Survey Background• New variables included in this round:

• Parental involvement

• School experience

• Social media use

• Video gaming

• Bullying

• New drugs added include:

• Lean

• E-cigarettes

• Energy drinks

Methodology: Sample Selection

• A representative sample of 1958 students from 50 schools (46 public, 4 private) participated in the survey

• The sample was selected using a two-stage stratified cluster methodology:

• Schools selected in the 1st stage

• Classes selected in the 2nd stage (All students in selected classes were included)

• Proportional sampling was employed & a stratified sampling frame was used at both stages

Methodology: Survey Administration

• The survey was conducted during January & February 2020

• Students completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 47 closed-ended items

• Questionnaire administration took place in a group setting within the classrooms of participating schools

• Trained Field Officers read the questions aloud to students who then marked their responses on the provided questionnaires

Data Analysis

• Weighted data was used to reduce bias in the results & make them more reflective of the wider target population

• Mainly descriptive analysis (percentages, means, etc.)

• Some inferential statistics were used to determine the relationship between drug use and other variables

• Select results were compared to those from 2006 and 2009 in an effort to identify trends

Key Findings

Participants

Mean age: 10 years with a standard deviation of 0.732

Drug Use Indicators

• Lifetime use: Proportion of students who have ever used the substance in question

• Past year use: drug use in the past year/12 months preceding the survey

• Past month use: drug use in the month preceding the survey.

Lifetime Drug Use

51

.7%

39

.7%

20

.9%

13

.3%

4.8

%

4.5

%

4.3

%

4.1

%

3.3

%

2.3

%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

Alcohol Energy

Drinks

Inhalants Alcohol +

energy drink

mix

Tobacco

cigarettes

Fanta Marijuana E-cigarettes Lean Any other

drug

Past Year Drug Use

26

.9%

25

.2%

12

.6%

1.7

%

2.3

%

2.0

%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

Alcohol Energy

Drinks

Inhalants Tobacco

cigarettes

Fanta Marijuana E-cigarettes Lean Alcohol +

energy drink

mix

Any other

drug

Past Month Drug Use

18

.0%

18

.7%

8.6

%

0.7

%

1.5

%

1.2

%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

18.0%

20.0%

Alcohol Energy

Drinks

Inhalants Tobacco

cigarettes

Fanta Marijuana E-cigarettes Lean Alcohol +

energy drink

mix

Any other

drug

Trend Analysis: Lifetime Prevalence

Substance 2006 2009 2020

Tobacco cigarettes 5.0% 7.2% 4.8%

Alcohol 49.3% 52.9% 51.7%

Inhalants 27.5% 44.9% 20.9%

Marijuana 2.8% 4.8% 4.3%

Fanta - 3.4% 4.5%

N.B. Interpret with caution due to the introduction of weighted data in 2020

Age of 1st UseSubstance Average Age

Inhalants 7.0 years

Tobacco Cigarettes 7.5 years

Fanta 7.8 years

Energy Drinks 7.8 years

Alcohol 7.9 years

Marijuana 8.2 years

Top 3 Most Common Sources

Top 3 Most Common Locations of Use

Risk & Protective Factors

What are risk & protective factors?

• Risk factors are characteristics of school, community & family environments, as well as characteristics of students & their peer groups that are known to predict increased likelihood of drug use, delinquency, school drop out, teen pregnancy & violent behaviour among youth.

• Protective factors exert a positive influence or buffer against the negative influence of risk, thus reducing the likelihood that adolescents will engage in problem behaviour.

Risk & Protective Factors Included in Survey• Gender & grade level

• Curiosity about drug use

• Perception of harm

• Ease of access

• Social media use

• Video gaming

• Bullying (victim & perpetrator)

• Parental involvement & supervision

• School experience (e.g. relationship with teacher, belief they can do well at school, feeling as though they are a part of their school, etc)

Drug Use & Gender

• There were significant differences between boys and girls with respect to the lifetime use of:

• Cigarettes (χ2 = 16.59, p<0.01)

• Marijuana (χ2 = 11.47, p<0.01)

• Energy drinks (χ2 = 19.86, p<0.001)

• Fanta (χ2 = 22.15, p<0.001)

N.B. In each case, lifetime prevalence was higher among males

• There were no significant differences with respect to the lifetime use of alcohol or inhalants (p>0.05)

Drug Use & Grade Level

• There were significant differences between Class 3 and Class 4 students with respect to the lifetime use of:• Alcohol (χ2 = 9.48, p<0.01)

• Marijuana (χ2 = 7.28, p<0.01)

N.B. Alcohol use was higher among Class 4 students while marijuana use was higher among Class 3 students

• There were no significant differences (p>0.05) with respect to the lifetime use of:• Tobacco cigarettes

• Inhalants

• Energy drinks

• Fanta

Perception of Harm

89.1%

80.2%73.4%

66.8%

56.4%49.5%

31.1%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

Smoking

cigarettes

Using

marijuana

Drinking

alcohol

Smoking fanta Using

inhalants

Vaping Using lean

Percentage of Students Considering Drug Use to be Harmful

Trend Analysis: Students Considering Drug Use to be Harmful

2009 2020

Smoking tobacco

cigarettes

86.2% 89.1%

Drinking alcohol 75.4% 73.4%

Using inhalants 61.2% 56.4%

Using marijuana 86.5% 80.2%

N.B. Interpret with caution due to the introduction of weighted data in 2020

Drug Use & Perception of Harm

• A significant relationship was found between drug use and perception of harm:• Students who thought there was no harm associated with tobacco cigarette,

alcohol, inhalant & marijuana use were more likely to report using these substances.

Ease of Access

55.5%

40.9%

27.7%

18.5%

12.0% 11.1%6.9%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

Inhalants Alcohol Tobacco

Cigarettes

Fanta Marijuana E-cigarettes Lean

Percentage of Students Considering Substances Easy to Access

Trend Analysis: Ease of Access

Marijuana Alcohol

2009 2020 2009 2020

Easy 16.5% 12.0% 50.5% 40.9%

Difficult 20.4% 7.5% 10.7% 10.1%

Impossible 18.7% 15.5% 11.1% 15.4%

Don’t know 40.6% 65.0% 23.5% 33.5%

N.B. Interpret with caution due to the introduction of weighted data in 2020

Drug Use & Ease of Access

Students who considered the following substances easy to access were more likely to report lifetime use:

• Marijuana - two times more likely (Odds ratio – 2.034)

• Inhalants - two times more likely (Odds ratio – 2.140)

• Tobacco cigarettes - two times more likely (Odds ratio – 2.395)

• Alcohol - three times more likely (Odds ratio – 3.288)

Drug Use & Curiosity

• 18.7% of students reported being curious about trying drugs

• Students who reported being curious about trying drugs were more than 1.5 times more likely to report lifetime drug use (Odds ratio -1.615)

Bullying

• 49.7% of students reported that another student had purposely tried to hurt them in the preceding month

• 27.7% of students admitted purposely trying to hurt another student in the preceding month

Drug Use & Bullying

• There were significant differences et ee stude ts drug use a d bullying:

• Students who were bullying others (Purposely tried to hurt other student in the previous month) reported higher proportions of substance use (71.9% vs. 48.5%) Χ2 = 83.84, p<0.001)

• Students who were victims of bullying (Other students purposely tried to hurt them in previous month) also reported higher proportions of substance use 60.2% s. 49.6% Χ2 = 22.02, p<0.001)

Social Media Use During Past Week

15

.9%

8.5

%

5.1

%

42

.3%

28

.3%

13

.7%

8.2

%

5.1

%

39

.9%

33

.1%

18

.1%

8.8

%

5.1

%

47

.7%

23

.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

1 or 2 days 3 or 4 days 5 or 6 days Everyday Did not use social

media

Overall

Males

Females

Drug Use & Social Media Use

• There was evidence of an association between social media use and lifetime use of:

• Tobacco cigarettes (Odds ratio – 4.431)*

• Alcohol (1.281)

• Inhalants (1.507)

• Marijuana (2.954)*

• Energy drinks (1.443)

* Evidence of a strong association

Video Gaming During Past Week

20

.8%

9.4

%

7.2

%

32

.8%

29

.8%

19

.3%

10

.4%

7.8

%

44

.0%

18

.5%

22

.3%

8.5

%

6.7

%

21

.1%

41

.4%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

1 or 2 days 3 or 4 days 5 or 6 days Everyday Did not play video

games

Overall

Males

Females

Drug Use & Video Game Use

• There was evidence of an association between past week video game use and the use of:

• Tobacco cigarettes (Odds ratio - 4.064)*

• Alcohol (Odds ratio – 1.157)

• Inhalants (Odds ratio – 1.395)

• Marijuana (Odds ratio – 4.034)*

• Energy drinks (Odds ratio - 1.432)

* Evidence of a strong association

Wrapping Up

Conclusions

• Drug use at the primary school level remains minimal & is primarily experimental

• Alcohol & inhalants were the main substances used by students

• Very few students have experimented with lean

• The high use of energy drinks is notable as is the reported use of alcohol & energy drink mixes

• Age of first drug use is generally between 7 and 8 years

Conclusions

• Family and friends are the most common sources for most drugs

• The home is the most common location of use for all drugs

• Drug use is related to: gender, grade level, bullying, social media use, video game use, ease of access & perception of harm

• Drug use was more likely among those who believe there is o risk asso iated ith the use of arious su sta es

Conclusions

• Drug use was more likely among those who considered substances to be easy to access, suggesting that they may be readily available and easily accessible to many students

Recommendations: Short Term

• Drug prevention education should be increased for primary school students of all ages

• Efforts should be made to ensure the delivery of the drug prevention education module within HFLE curriculum

• Drug prevention education should include: energy drinks, fanta, e-cigarettes & lean

• Social determinants associated with drug use should be factored into drug prevention efforts

Recommendations: Medium Term

• Parents should be educated about the drugs used by young persons, the associated dangers, signs & symptoms of drug use & their role in drug prevention

• School-based prevention efforts should be buttressed with community interventions

Recommendations: Long-Term

• Efforts should e ade to further restri t hildre s a ess to drugs

• Drug prevention education should be delivered using a national approach coordinated by the NCSA, including:• A national policy guiding the delivery of drug prevention education in primary

schools

• The identification & training of facilitators (e.g. teachers, parents, NGO staff, etc.)

• The development & delivery of a standardized curriculum

• Continuous monitoring & evaluation

Take Home Message

• Drug use at the primary school level remains minimal & is primarily experimental

• Prevalence rates have generally decreased since 2009

• Efforts should be made to increase drug prevention education for primary school students

• Lean, vaping & social determinants of drug use should be incorporated

Take Home Message

• Consideration should be given to a coordinated & structured approach involving the NCSA, teachers, parents & other stakeholders

• This approach can be buttressed with initiatives targeting parents & the wider community

• Childre s a ess to drugs should e further restri ted

End of Presentation