Het gebruik van alcohol, marihuana en XTC door scholieren in het voortgezet onderwijs; 1990 - 1995 [Use of alcohol, cannabis and XTC by pupils in secondary education 1990- 1995 in the Netherlands ]

This article compares data on the use of alcohol and cannabis, collected in a study on adolescent sexuality in 1995 with data collected in a similar study, five years earlier. Furthermore, data are presented concerning XTC use in 1995. Data were collected by means of written questionnaires, administered in class by school doctors and schoolnurses. The 1990 sample and the 1995 sample may both be considered as highly representative for the population of pupils in secondary education in those years. Data from 17576 pupils were available for analysis. In testing, small differences between the two samples were controlled for by using logistic regression in which both time of measurement and the relevant demographic variables (sex, age group, type of education and ethnic origin) were entered into the analysis simultaneously. The percentage of pupils who ever drank alcohol in 1995 and 64%, compared to 54% in 1990, a highly significant increase. Among pupils who ever drank, the frequency of alcohol use, also, had risen: in 1995 68% of these pupils drank alcohol at least once a week, compared to 64% in 1990. This difference is significant, too. The percentage of pupils who ever used cannabis increased from 7% to 16%, again a highly significant difference. Frequency of cannabis use among those currently using did not increase significantly between 1990 and 1995. Three percent of all pupils ever used XTC; the percentage of those using at least once a week was 1%. These figures suggest a changing, more riskier life style, which might be related to an increase in other types of risk taking, for example with regard to sexual contacts, as described in Brugman et al (1995). Some people working in education and youth health care suggest an increase in the number of pupils who are not able to concentrate in class, due to drug abuse. A study focusing on problems and risks related to the use of alcohol and drugs among Dutch pupils in secondary education may therefore be deemed appropriate at this moment.