Substance misuse amongst young people in non-school settings: Challenges to practitioners and policy makers

Abstract

Over the past two decades the levels of substance misuse amongst children and young people have increased at a global level generally and within the UK in particular. Some school aged young people are considered to be at an increased risk to substance misuse, particularly those outside mainstream school. However, the literature on substance use by these young people remains comparatively limited. This paper explores this issue through an investigation of cannabis use trends amongst the High Risk Booster Sample of the Belfast Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study of adolescent substance use. It focuses upon the cannabis use patterns of young people excluded from school and those attending Emotional and Behavioural Difficulty units from the age of 11-16 years, groups who are historically categorised as vulnerable to substance misuse. The experience of these young people provides evidence to highlight the contemporary challenges facing policy makers and practitioners when addressing substance use and misuse use amongst these young people. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.