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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:55 pm
Time: 8:55 pm
Results for drug abuse (scotland)
1 results foundAuthor: McAra, Lesley Title: Patterns of Referral to the Children's Hearing System for Drug and Alcohol Misuse Summary: The purpose of this paper is to explore patterns of referral to the children’s hearings system for drug and/or alcohol misuse. It draws on the findings of the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (the Edinburgh Study), a longitudinal research programme exploring pathways into and out of offending for a cohort of around 4,300 young people who started secondary school in the City of Edinburgh in 1998. The key findings are as follows: Only a small proportion (10 per cent) of children in the Edinburgh Study cohort with a children’s hearing record, were ever referred to the reporter on J grounds (for drug or alcohol misuse). However J ground referrals were only one of several routes into the hearings system for children with significant substance misuse problems. A further 3 per cent of those with records were referred for Misuse of Drugs Act offences and in another 11 per cent of cases drug and/or alcohol misuse was raised as a key issue in reports. Children known to the hearings system for substance misuse and other children with a hearings record were significantly more likely to be living in a single parent household and to come from a socially deprived background than non-record children. Self-reported substance misuse was significantly higher amongst children known to the hearings system for drug and/or alcohol misuse than amongst other children with a hearings record and non-record children. In official records, alcohol misuse was the most commonly identified problem. Children known to the system for drug and/or alcohol misuse exhibited high levels of anti-social and disruptive behaviour had problematic family and peer relationships and absconded regularly from school. Parental substance misuse, however, was not identified as a common problem in records. The earliest substance misuse referrals were made at age 11 and peaked at sweep five (reference period fourth year of secondary education). A high proportion of these children had a long history of involvement with the system, mostly for offending or being beyond the control of a relevant person. Just over a third of referrals with a substance misuse component resulted in a hearing, the most common outcome of which was a home supervision requirement. Children made subject to compulsory measures of care appear to have only limited access to specialist drug and/or alcohol programmes. Reports indicate that social work interventions focused on: the child’s challenging behaviour; truancy; the capacity of parents to control their children; and parent/child relationship breakdown. Compulsory measures of care may only have a limited impact on substance misuse. Just under two-thirds of those with a hearing had at least one further referral to the hearings system in later years. Moreover drug and/or alcohol misuse was raised as a key issue in the referral process in later years, for just under a half of children made subject to compulsory measures of care. Very few children in the Edinburgh cohort who regularly drank alcohol or took drugs were known to the hearings system. Level of drug use was only a weak predictor of having a hearings record. Substance misusers most likely to be referred were those who: were not living with two birth parents; came from a socially deprived background; exhibited challenging behaviour in the context of school; and came frequently to the attention of the police (importantly the latter were not always the most persistent and serious offenders). The findings are supportive of policy initiatives aimed at broadening the range of community- based services, access to which is not predominantly controlled by the police, schools or social work. The findings also suggest that sports and leisure programmes which aim to divert youngsters away from the streets and into meaningful, structured activities have an important role to play in preventing or reducing substance misuse amongst children. Details: Edinburgh, Scotland: Centre for Law and Society, The University of Edinburgh, 2005. 34p. Source: The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, Number 6: Internet Resource: Accessed July 18, 2012 at http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/cls/esytc/findings/digest6.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/cls/esytc/findings/digest6.pdf Shelf Number: 102905 Keywords: Alcohol Abuse (Scotland)Drug Abuse (Scotland)Juvenile Justice System (Scotland)Juvenile Offenders (Scotland)Substance Abuse (Scotland) |