Students to be targeted in new drink and drugs survey

Only secondary students surveyed until now

A NEW survey among local college students and apprentices in Galway will aim to learn more about young adults' views on drugs and alcohol.

The survey will be carried out by the Western Region Drugs and Alcohol Taskforce (WRDATF) as part of their ongoing Planet Youth initiative. Up to now the surveys have taken place in local secondary schools every two years.

Co-ordinator of Planet Youth Emmet Major told the recent public meeting of the Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP), in Athenry last week, that the next step will be working with students in local colleges, universities and apprenticeship courses, to see how habits and perceptions on drugs and alcohol change as teenagers hit adulthood.

“Our research has been great in getting a feel for what those aged 15, 16 and 17 are thinking about drugs and alcohol, but we would like to learn more about young adults aged between 18 and 25,” Emmet explained.

“We want to learn more about young adults and are creating a survey, so we get an idea of how they deal with drugs and alcohol. We are working on this with local universities and hope to have it up and running by October.

“Getting a feel for what young people think about these topics, knowing what happens when secondary students get older will help us massively.”

Planet Youth originated in Iceland in response to their then high substance usage rates among 15 and 16-year-olds.

By improving factors such as leisure time, time spent with peers, and the roles of parents and schools, the authorities in Iceland were able to bring these levels down significantly.

Emmet Major is keen to introduce similar initiatives in Ireland.

“We have been running programmes in schools aimed at helping students to look after each other on nights out, that is particularly vital in the lead up Junior Cert Results Night,” added Emmet.

“Members of the Gardaí come into schools in a bid to steer them away from alcohol and finding other ways to celebrate together. We also organise parents’ information evenings so they can be prepared to help their children too,” he concluded.