Speaker Report
Sex Drugs Smokes and Booze – What’s Driving the Trends
Jude Ball was our speaker this week. Jude is from the Public Health Department University of Otago in Wellington (formerly Otago Medical School), and she has spent 3 years looking at trends in adolescent risk behaviours. The focus of her research is on smoking, drinking, drug use (particularly cannabis) and sexual behaviours in secondary school students under 16, as it is understood that if these behaviours start early, the risk is greater.
While New Zealand youth are her focus, she also looks at international research and she reports some good and some bad news. The good news is that surveys taken over several decades indicate a marked drop in the target group smoking, and there is a downward trend in adolescent drinking behaviours - in all countries the drinking has halved. Binge drinking has plummeted in New Zealand in this age group, although it has increased in older age groups. Cannabis use has also gone down in this age group.
There has been a big decline in teen pregnancies throughout the world, particularly since 2007. This can’t be explained by an increase in abortions – these have gone down, so it would appear they are having less sex.
However, other indicators are not improving. Condom use has declined, nutrition indicators such as obesity haven’t improved, and physical activity has declined, as has mental health – particularly in young women who are suffering from increasing levels of depression and anxiety.
One could speculate why these changes are occurring, but while there are some obvious factors such as, if parents drink heavily or take drugs, the likelihood of adolescents mimicking this behaviour increases, there still remains many unanswered questions.
So what are the drivers of this decline? Firstly we know adolescents are increasingly starting to smoke at 17-20 – starting later. We know that there has been a significant shift in attitudes towards lower tolerance to drinking, smoking etc. We know internationally that alcohol specific parenting makes a big difference when comparing responsible versus permissive behaviours. This hasn’t been tested in New Zealand but indicators suggest it might apply. We also know that there is a knock-on effect of some behaviours to others, reduce some behaviours and by association others are reduced as well.
Jude’s very strong take-home message was that parents do matter. Young people do respond to expectations – especially if they are negotiated. And finally, a shout out for young people. They are often mis-represented in the press. Jude would encourage us to look at the evidence rather than respond to the often, misleading media messages. A very positive note to finish on.
Brenda Lazelle
Reporter
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