Premium
Beliefs of young people and their parents about the harmfulness of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco for mental disorders
Author(s) -
Lubman Dan I,
Hides Leanne,
Jorm Anthony F
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01239.x
Subject(s) - psychiatry , cannabis , mental health , vignette , young adult , depression (economics) , psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , substance use , developmental psychology , social psychology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective: To ascertain the beliefs of young people and their parents about the role of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. Design, setting and participants: Between May and August 2006, a national computer‐assisted telephone survey was conducted on a representative sample of Australian youths aged 12–25 years. 3746 young people and 2005 of their parents were presented with a case vignette portraying psychosis, depression, depression with alcohol misuse, or social phobia in a young person. Main outcome measures: Participants’ beliefs regarding the role of substance use in preventing or dealing with mental disorders in young people. Results: Over 85% of participants agreed that alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were harmful for the young people in the vignettes, and over 80% of youths agreed that not using marijuana or drinking alcohol in excess would reduce the risk of developing a similar problem. Conclusion: Young people and their parents are fully aware of the negative impact of substance use on mental disorders. Translating this knowledge into behavioural change will be a major challenge for future public health campaigns.