demographic and relational correlates of substance use in Canada

Question 1

tobacco

Answer 1

second most commonly used substance in Canada
* 15% reported being current smokers
* 26% report being former smokers
* 60% of population has never smoked

Question 2

alcohol

Answer 2

by far the most commonly used psychoactive substance used in Canada
* 90% of Canadians report having ever drank alcohol
* 76% report having drank alcohol in the past year

Question 3

cannabis

Answer 3

in 2013 was the most commonly used illicit substance

third most commonly used psychoactive substance

34% of Canadians have used cannabis in their lifetime

11% of Canadians report having used cannabis in the past year

Question 4

caffeine

Answer 4

use is very common

• not measured in the CTADS or any other comparable national substance use survey
• 20% of men and 15% of women aged 31 to 70 drink more than the recommended daily limit (400mg) of caffeine each day
• 3 8oz cups

Question 5

illicit substances

Answer 5

excluding cannabis: less than 1% report past year use

ever used
* 11% hallucinogens
* 7% cocaine or crack
* 4% ecstasy
* 3% amphetamines
* <1% heroin

Question 6

demographic correlates

Answer 6

• age
• sex
• ethnicity and race
• socioeconomic status
• geographical location

Question 7

age

Answer 7

young people are more likely to use and misuse substances with few exceptions

• peaks in late teens and early 20s
• declines or stabilizes with full-time employment and/or family formation

Question 8

exception to age correlation

Answer 8

older people are most likely to use (later peak)
* cocaine/crack use
* injection drug use
* steroid use

younger people (grade 7-8)
* inhalant use

people 65+
* benzodiazepines
* related sedative-hypnotic drugs

Question 9

why does the age correlation exist?

Answer 9

social control
* young people: greater freedom and fewer obligations
* elderly: lack of social control or bonds bc of loss and isolation

elderly
* transitioned out of the workplace
* no longer have children to look after
* loss of spouse, friends, and family members

subcultural involvement
* moe time for leisure activities
* peer use infleunces use

social learning
* young people learn what substances to use and how to use them from observing others

Question 10

sex

Answer 10

males are more likely to use illicit psychoactive substances, compared to females
* cocaine/crack: males 10%, females 5%
* hallucinogens: males 14%, females 8%

males and females have similar though still differing rates of legal substance use
* alcohol: males 93%, females 88%
* tobacco: males 16%, females 13%

females more likely to use pharmaceuticals, compared to men

Question 11

why does the sex correlation exist

Answer 11

**gender roles and rules of conduct **
* externalized behavior more expected among males compared to female
* females more likely to seek help for internalized conflicts

social control
* males are monitored less and even celebrated for substance use
* females are viewed as more vulnerable and expected to refrain from risky activities
* females have closer ties to society and are more likely to uphld the law

Question 12

ethnicity and race

Answer 12

ethnic and racial identification have long interconnected with substance use patterns

little is known about Canada
* wishing to avoid racism and discrimination
* few population-based, nationwide studies of racial/ethnic differences have been conducted

research must be interpreted with caution
* ethnicity and race are complicated
* differences in social factors may contribute to susbtance use and misuse
* measuing substance use is inconsistent

Question 13

ethnicity and race: US findings

Answer 13

adolescent illicit drug use
* asians are least likely to use
* Indigenous people are more likely to use
* African-Americans are less likely to use compared to Whites, Hispanics, and Indigenous people
* adolescent hispanics have similar use as whites

illicit drug use during transition to adulthood
* african americans increase use
* white and hispanics decrease
* Indigenous people remain the most likely to use

Question 14

socioeconomic status

Answer 14

important indicator of social behaviours and outcomes

usually measured with income and education level

higher income
* more likely to have used alcohol in the past year, drank more frequently, and exceeded the low-risk drinking guidelines
* more likely to have ever used cannabis

higher education
* after completion of studies, less alcohol consumption

Question 15

geographic location: Urban vs rural locations

Answer 15

rural dwellers are less likely to have used an illicit substance in the past year

• urban dwellers are more likely to report using cannabis compared to rural dwellers

explanations
* illicit substances are more restricted in rural
* people most likely to use illicit substances gravitate to urbanized areas

Question 16

province and territories

Answer 16

tobacco use highest in New Brunswick

alcohol use is highest in Quebec and Ontario

cannabis use is highest in BC and Saskatchewan

Question 17

relational correlates of substance use in Canada

Answer 17

• peers
• intimate partners
• siblings
• parents

Question 18

peer influences

Answer 18

• more complex than simple “peer pressure”
• peer influence: in addition to individual and social factors, peers can have significant and enduring effect on substance use

perceptions vs reality of peer substance use
* in general, perceived use amongst peers has a greater effect on one’s use, compared to actual peer use

Question 19

peer influences: social activities in peer group

Answer 19

partying and socially defined delinquent activities: peers have more influence

structured and supervised activities: peers have less influence

having more friends who drink or use cannabis increases likelihood of use

as peers increase their drinking, significant increase in individual use

alcohol and cannabis use is more likely to occur in smaller groups

Question 20

peer influences: selection of peers

Answer 20

close relations with substance using peers can counteract effect of positive of close relations with families

but, family experiences can have an impact on the selection of peers and thus the influence that peers can have on one’s substance use

Question 21

intimate partners

Answer 21

• having a partner who uses substances increases individual use
• for Cannabis, as the seriousness of the relationship increases, use decreases
• ending of a relationship and the start of a new relationship leads to increased use of tobacco and marijuana

the ending of a relationship was connected to heavy drinking
* experiencing depression
* being more exposed to other substance-using peers

Question 22

siblings

Answer 22

influence tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use even above peer influences

older siblings more important than parents for younger sibling tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use

stronger sibling influences when
* siblings are all male
* two years or less apart in age
* siblings 19-24 years

explanations
* shared peers
* modeling of behaviour

Question 23

parental influences

Answer 23

• parent’s substance dependence is associated with increased risk for substance abuse, antisocial behaviours, depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, difficulties in family relationships, and generalized distress and maladjustment

Question 24

parental influences (attachment and parenting styles)

Answer 24

family attachment more important than family structure
* insecure attachments affects whether parents know about their adolescents activities and location
* the more parents know about their adolescent’s whereabouts and location, the less alcohol and marijuana use

specific parenting styles are also connected to substance use among adolescents
* authoritarian parents: increase the risk of adolescent smoking
* permissive parents: decrease the risk of drinking

Question 25

parental influences (monitoring & conflict)

Answer 25

parents who monitor their behaviour of their adolescent children and their children’s peers more effectively control or prevent substance use

spending time with parents can be protective
* those who have infrequent family dinners are more likely to have used tobacco, marijuana, or alcohol

family conflict (parent/child, parent/sibling, sibling/sibling)
* increased substance use

Question 26

parental substance use

Answer 26

• children exposed to parental addiction more likely to develop depression in adulthood
• substance use is strongly correlated with violence in the family

explanation
* more traumatic childhood
* healthy attachments, physical well-being, and emotional well-being of the child are compromised in these homes
* can affect the child’s ability to cope with adverse circumstances and adapt to adulthood in a healthy manner

Question 27

parental substance use

Answer 27

study findings
* young men who had grown up with an alcohol-dependent father were significantly more likely to be dependent on alcohol or cannabis themselves

• people with at least one alcohol dependent parent were more likely to be alcohol dependent, have an opioid dependence, and experience major depression
• among women, those with alcohol dependency were more likely to have had a parent with alcohol dependency and to have experienced sexual abuse
• children with substance misusing parents had a significantly lower resiliency, lower school bondings, and higher at-risk temperament, feelings, thoughts, and behaviours
• alcohol dependent families have impaired parent/child interactions, with more negativity and less positivity than normal families
• if both parents dependent: greater effect
• dependent mothers have greater effect than dependent fathers
• non-dependent mothers could moderate effect of dependent father

not all doom and gloom
* similar levels of some measures of psychological well-being, personality characteristics, and personal development
* but, more likely to experience depression and anxiety

some evidence that the general public endorses discriminatory behaviour towards those who have a family member who is drug dependent