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Understanding patterns of substance use among young people in Swansea / Rachel J. Evans

Swansea University Author: Rachel J. Evans

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/Suthesis.41144

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to understand young people’s substance use. The methods employed were a longitudinal quantitative survey administered on three separate occasions and included three different cohorts of participants, aged between 12 and 15 years old who all attended secondary school...

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Published: 2016
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa41144
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Abstract: The objective of this thesis was to understand young people’s substance use. The methods employed were a longitudinal quantitative survey administered on three separate occasions and included three different cohorts of participants, aged between 12 and 15 years old who all attended secondary school in the City and County of Swansea. The data was considered at two levels, at the within cohort level, to examine age-related changes, and at the between cohort level, to identify trends over time. The quantitative element was complemented by a series of qualitative interviews and focus groups with young people who had completed the questionnaire.The research question that led the investigation was ‘What is the nature and extent of young people’s substance use?’ Specific components of substance use explored included: the prevalence of substance use, the recency and frequency of substance use, the number of substances used, and combinations of substance use. Temporal elements of young people’s substance use were also examined with consideration given to how substance use changes as young people get older and how stable substance use is among similarly aged young people over time.The main conclusions of the thesis were that most substance use by young people was of licit substances (mainly alcohol), most young people did not engage in ‘heavy’ substance use, most young people had only used one substance, and that persistent use of the same substance was related to a greater intensity of use. Young people had a nuanced perspective of substance use with large differences between substances and within substances in terms of acceptability.
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College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences