COMPARATIVE REPORT ON NATIONWIDE SCHOOL SURVEYS IN … · COMPARATIVE REPORT ON NATIONWIDE SCHOOL...

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

INTER-AMERICAN DRUG ABUSE CONTROL COMMISSION

COMPARATIVE REPORT ON NATIONWIDE SCHOOL

SURVEYS IN SEVEN COUNTRIES: EL SALVADOR,

GUATEMALA, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PARAGUAY,

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND URUGUAY

2003

WASHINGTON, D.C., NOVEMBER 2004

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INDEX Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Description of the Sample 4 Prevalence of Ilicit Drug Use 8 Ilicit Drugs Used 11 Use of Tranquilizers and Stimulants 17 Tobbaco and Alcohol Use 21 Perceive Risk of Drug Use 25 Drug Supply and ease of access to drugs 26 TABLES AND CHARTS Table N 1: Sample Percent Distribution in by Gender, Age Group, Grade and Type of School and Country.

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Chart N 1: Sample Percent Distribution by Gender and Country. 5 Chart N 2: Sample Percent Distribution by Age and Country. 6 Chart N 3: Sample Percent Distribution by Grade and Country. 6 Chart N 4: Sample Percent Distribution by Type of School and Country. 7 Table N 2: Prevalence of Use of Any Ilicit Drug Among Students by Grade. 8 Chart N 5: Lifetime, Last Year and Last Month Prevalence for Second Grade by Country. 9 Chart N 6: Lifetime, Last Year and Last Month for Fourth Grade by Country. 10 Chart N 7: Lifetime, Last Year and Last Month for Sixth Grade by Country. 11 Table 3: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Any Ilicit Drug among Students by Country and Grade. 12 Chart N 8: Percent Distribution of Consumers by Type of Drug Among Last Year Consumers. 13 Table 4: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Any Ilicit Drug Among Students by Country (All grades). 14 Chart N 9: Last Year Consumers Distribution by Number of Drug Used. 15 Table N 5: Percent Distribution of Consumers of One Drug by Drug and Country. 16 Chart N 10: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Tranquilizers by Gender and Country. 17 Chart N 11: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Tranquilizers by Grade and Country. 18 Chart N 12: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Stimulants by Gender and Country. 19 Chart N 13: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Stimulants by Grade and Country. 20 Chart N 14: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Cigarettes by Gender and Country. 21 Chart N 15: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Cigarettes by Grade and Country. 22 Chart N 16: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Alcohol by Gender and Country. 23 Chart N 17: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Cigarettes by Grade and Country. 24 Table 6: Perception of Harmfulness (harmful or very harmful) of Drug Use. 25 Chart N 18: Accessibility of Ilicit Drugs by Gender and Country. 26 Chart N 19: Accessibility of Ilicit Drugs by Type of School and Country. 27 Chart N 20: Supply of Ilicit Drugs by Gender and Country. 28 Chart N 21: Supply of Ilicit Drug by Type of School and Country. 28

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report contains the main findings of nationwide surveys on drug use carried out in 2003 in seven countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. It also offers comparisons of some of those findings. All of the surveys were carried out using the methodology of the Inter-American Drug Use Data System (SIDUC). Among the main results, it was found with respect to the use of any illicit drug, that the countries fall into three groups: on one hand are Panama and Uruguay with high levels of drug use; the second group is composed of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Paraguay where prevalence of drug use is moderate; and, finally, there is Dominican Republic with quite low levels of drug use. While the figures for Panama and Uruguay are high in the framework of this group of seven countries, they represent half the rate found in the United States. In nearly all the countries, the vast majority of consumers are single drug users (more than 70% of drug users in Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, and Nicaragua); the country with the lowest figure was Guatemala where 60% are single drug users. However, upon comparing the type of drug used, it was found that in Uruguay 80% of drug users preferred cannabis (53% of drug users only use cannabis and 74% of single drug users use cannabis). In Paraguay and Dominican Republic on the other hand, use of this drug was less frequent: approximately 37% of drug users. The most commonly used drug in Paraguay is jarra loca (a mixture of alcohol and a tranquilizer). In Dominican Republic it was found that the prevalence of solvents use is similar to that of cannabis; however, their use accounts for 32% of single drug users. While levels of illicit drug use in Dominican Republic were found to be quite low, the same cannot be said of tranquilizers taken without a prescription; the country had the highest rates for use in the past year, with 12.8% in the case of female students and 6.5% in male students. The same is true of unprescribed stimulants, where, again, Dominican Republic appeared with the highest rates of abuse: 6.2% for female students and 4.4% for male students. The figures for tobacco and alcohol use ranged quite widely across the seven countries. Thus, as regards tobacco use in female students, in Uruguay the rate of 40% for recent use (last 30 days), was between three and four times higher than in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Paraguay, and 10 times higher than in Dominican Republic. There was greater similarity among male students: other than Uruguay, the prevalences in male students were higher than in female students and ranged from 15% to 23%, the exception being Dominican Republic, with a rate of 3.8%. In terms of alcohol use, Uruguay had the highest prevalences for use in the past month, both in male students (6 out of 10 said they had consumed alcohol) and in female students (five of every 10 students). By contrast, El Salvador returned the lowest figures (15% in female students and 18% for male students). Perceived risk of illicit drug use was quite high in all countries; the lowest figures were for students in Panama, which is consistent with the fact it was the country that reported the highest levels of illicit drug use. On the other hand, risk perception of tobacco and alcohol use was quite low in Uruguay, which is in keeping with the high rates of use of those drugs.

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Finally, with respect to drug supply and ease of access to drugs, the highest percentages were recorded in the countries with the highest consumption levels: Panama and Uruguay.

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1.- INTRODUCTION

One of the objectives of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) is to promote scientific research in the countries of the hemisphere in order to increase the store of knowledge on the drug problem, and thereby enable decision making based on reliable information. In this framework, CICAD has provided assistance to several countries to carry out studies on different population groups and it makes available the Inter-American Drug Use Data System (SIDUC) to that end. This system makes it possible to compare the results of research projects undertaken by different countries on a particular population group, and to evaluate trends in a country when a study is repeated over time.

The projects covered in this report are among those for which CICAD has provided assistance. Specifically, they are nationwide surveys on schoolchildren in second, fourth and sixth grade (categories which may vary from country to country); that is, students aged approximately 13, 15, and 17. In this context, the countries that carried out studies under the SIDUC methodology in 2003 were El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. By the same token, most of these countries have results for surveys, also on the school population, conducted in 2002 in their respective capital cities. Accordingly, the results are comparable for that geographic context.

CICAD is confident that the findings of these studies will benefit each country for the purposes of designing strategies and programs on drug abuse prevention and reducing the magnitude of the problem. Comparative presentation of results, as in this report, will permit each country to perform a relative evaluation of their particular situation and, as this report shows, some results are quite similar for different countries, while others reflect their unique realities and characteristics. In order to enrich the comparisons, in some cases referential data were also included for Chile and the United States, which allows not only any evaluation of the scale of drug use in a country in the context of the seven countries covered by this report, but also comparison with two countries with average and high levels of drug use that also have series of studies in schools. 2.- DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE

In first place it is important to mention that the same methodological procedures (including the survey questionnaire) were adopted in all seven countries, which ensures comparable results.

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Table N 1: Sample Percent Distribution by Gender, Age, Grade and Type of School and Country.

Variable El

Salvador

Guatemala

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay Dominican Republic

Uruguay

Gender* Male 51.7 41.1 42.9 46.8 48.8 42.1 45.9 Female 48.1 58.5 56.1 53.2 51.2 55.6 54.1

Age 12 to 14 42.3 27.5 27.5 38.9 31.2 28.5 37.3 15 to 16 32.8 35.0 37.4 35.7 36.8 39.8 33.1 17 and more

24.9 37.6 35.1 25.4 32.0 31.7 29.6

Grade 2nd. 39.2 41.7 41.6 43.9 37.8 34.8 45.5 4th. 33.5 34.3 32.0 34.2 39.8 37.1 35.3 6th. 27.3 24.1 26.4 22.0 22.3 28.1 19.1

Type of School#

Public 63.9 30.0 70.3 82.3 73.0 79.5 76.5 Private 32.2 70.0 29.7 17.7 22.5 20.5 23.5 TOTAL CASES

5.644 7.941 5.412 5.760 6.365 5.075 4.150

* in some countries there were cases without information. # the difference to a 100% is due to the existence of another type of school.

Chart N 1: Sample Percent Distribution by Gender and Country

51.7

41.142.9

46.848.8

42.145.9

48.1

58.556.1

53.251.2

55.6 54.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua Panama Paraguay DominicanRepublic

Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Male Female

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As the graph shows, the distribution by sex was not absolutely uniform: for

instance, in El Salvador there is a slight majority of male students over female students, in contrast to the other countries where female students were in the majority, particularly in Guatemala and Dominican Republic.

As to age groups, in El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay the sample contained a high percentage of schoolchildren aged 12 to 14. In contrast, in Guatemala and Nicaragua older schoolchildren comprised a larger percentage.

Chart N 2: Sample Percent Distribution by Age and Country

42.327.5 27.5

38.931.2 28.5

37.3

32.8

35 37.4

35.736.8 39.8

33.1

24.937.6 35.1

25.432 31.7 29.6

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Uruguay

12 to 14 15 to 16 17 and more

Chart N 3: Sample Percent Distribution by Grade and Country

39.2 41.7 41.6 43.937.8 34.8

45.5

33.5 34.3 3234.2

39.837.1

35.3

27.3 24.1 26.4 22 22.3 28.119.1

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Uruguay

2nd. 4th. 6th.

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As with the age of the children, an examination of grades also revealed a number

of differences. For example, in the Uruguay sample less than 20% were in the last grade. The foregoing, differs with Dominican Republic where the percentage was over 28%.

Finally, the distribution of each sample is shown by type of facility. The majority of the students in all countries (except Guatemala) were from public schools. In the Guatemala sample the situation is diametrically opposed, with only 30% of the children from public schools.

In light of the above-noted differences between the samples and because it would be inadvisable to subdivide excessively the samples, for the purposes of comparing prevalences, the results will be broken down according to the school grades of the students. For findings where no comparison between countries are made, the results for drug use are shown for the sample as a whole in each country.

Chart N 4: Sample Percent Distribution by Type of School and Country

63.9

30

70.3

82.3

7379.5 76.5

32.2

70

29.7

17.722.5 20.5 23.5

0

20

40

60

80

100


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Public Private

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3.- PREVALENCE OF ILLICIT DRUG USE This section contains the main results on illicit drug use in each country. The concept “any illicit drug” includes consumption by a student of at least one illicit drug, regardless of quantity consumed. The report includes three time frames of use: lifetime prevalence, that is, if the student has used an illicit drug at least once in their life; last-year prevalence, which measures consumption in the year prior to the study; and, finally, last-month prevalence, which determines drug use in the 30 days that led up to the study. As mentioned, the results are presented by grade rather than for the total number of cases, as a way to reduce the impact of the above-described differences between the country samples.

Table N 2: Prevalence of Use of Any Ilicit Drug Among Students by Grade

Grade Country Lifetime Prevalence

Last Year Prevalence

Last Month Prevalence

El Salvador 5,3 2,4 1,0 Guatemala 7,1 4,0 2,1 Nicaragua 5,8 3,0 1,6 Panama 11,7 10,8 7,8 Paraguay 6,2 3,2 1,6 Dominican Republic 2,7 1,6 1,0

2nd. grade

Uruguay 9,8 6,9 3,8 El Salvador 8,5 5,0 2,5 Guatemala 7,9 4,2 2,2 Nicaragua 12,7 6,5 4,0 Panama 15,9 14,1 10,3 Paraguay 9,9 5,9 3,4 Dominican Republic 4,6 3,4 2,3

4th. grade


6th. grade

Uruguay 21,9 16,4 9,1

According to the results shown in the table the countries fall into two groups with quite different orders of drug use: on one hand are Panama and Uruguay, and on the other

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the other five countries; the figures for the first group are much higher than those of the second group.

It is interesting to analyze the situation among three neighboring countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The results for fourth and sixth grades reveal that use of any illicit drug in Guatemala is lower than in the other two countries, in terms not only of lifetime prevalence, but also of last-year and last-month prevalence. In the youngest student group (second grade) the situation changes, and we find that Guatemala has higher rates than El Salvador and Nicaragua.

One striking aspect of the findings is that in some countries levels of drug taking do not necessarily ascend in line with student grade. There could be a number of different reasons for this and each country may have its own interpretation; however, we believe that a clear identification of them would be advisable.

Following are graphs for each grade, together with an analysis of those findings.

SECOND GRADE

The preceding graph shows the results for second grade students, which broadly speaking covers schoolchildren aged 13 and 14. In terms of lifetime, last-year, and last-month prevalence, the country with the highest levels of use of any illicit drug was Panama, followed by Uruguay. As regards recent use, measured in terms of last-month prevalence, it was fond that the rate for Panama was more than double that of Uruguay, and more than triple that of the other countries. Dominican Republic appears with the lowest rate in every case.

Chart N 5: Lifetime, Last Year and Last Month Prevalence for Second Grade by Country

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Lifetime Year Month

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua PanamaParaguay Dominican Republic Uruguay

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The studies in these countries are not strictly comparable with those of other countries, such as the United States and Chile, for example (due to slight differences in methodology and in the group of illicit drugs included in the variable “any drug”); that said, in terms of lifetime prevalence, the scale of drug use in Panama and Uruguay was quite similar to that found in Chile (which recorded a rate of more than 9% for cannabis, cocaine, or coca paste), and approximately half that of the United States, 22.8% for all illicit drugs. With respect to use within the last year by students at this grade, the result shown by Uruguay of 6.9% is not far off that of Chile (5.5% for the above-mentioned drugs), while the scale of use recorded in Panama (10.8%) is between the rates for these two countries and the United States (16.1%). Finally, an evaluation of last-month prevalence revealed, on one hand, a larger disparity between Panama and Uruguay, and, on the other, a figure for Panama (7.8%) that was considerably closer to that of the United States (9.7%). For their part, the figures for Uruguay and Chile were quite similar. FOURTH GRADE

The results for students in fourth grade (mainly aged 15 and 16) are similar to those of second grade in that the highest levels of use appeared among students in Panama and Uruguay. However, Ururguay had the highest levels in terms of prevalence for lifetime and last-year use; but both were well above the other countries, particularly in terms of use in the last year and the last month. For this grade, the levels of use in the United States were 41% for lifetime prevalence, 32% for the past year, and 19.5% for the past month. These values are twice those of Panama and Uruguay. Chile, on the other hand, recorded 25% for lifetime use, nearly 16% for last-year use, and approximately 8% for the last month, quite similar to the values of Panama and Uruguay.

Chart N 6: Lifetime, Last year and Last month Prevalence for Fourth Grade by Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

Lifetime Last year Last month

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua Panama

Paraguay Dominican Republic Uruguay

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SIXTH GRADE

For this group of school students (mostly aged 17 and 18), it was found that the highest levels of drug use occurred in Uruguay, followed by Panama. While the figures for Uruguay are the highest in this group of countries, they are a good deal lower than those of the United States for this student group (51.1% for lifetime prevalence, 39.3% for use in the last year, and 24.5% for use within the last month). They were also lower than those reported by Chile (approximately 39% for lifetime prevalence, 24% for last-year prevalence, and 12% for use in the last month).

4.- ILLICIT DRUGS USED This section analyzes the profile of illicit drug use in terms of type and number of drugs consumed by schoolchildren in the seven countries. The most commonly used drug varies from country to country, but in many countries that drug is cannabis. To evaluate this situation, the table below shows the results for use of “any illicit drug” in the last year for each country and for each of the three grades, as well as the prevalences for cannabis and for other drugs (excluding cannabis). It should be borne in mind that the last-year prevalences for cannabis refer to its use both exclusively and in addition to other illicit drugs.

Chart N 7: Lifetime, Last Year and Last Month Prevalence for Sixth Grade by Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

Lifetime Last Year Last Month

Rat

e (%

)


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Table N 3: Last Year Prevalence of use of ilicit drugs among Students by Country and Grade

Grade

Coumtry Any Ilicit Drug Marijuana Other no

marijuana El Salvador 2,4 0,6 1,8 Guatemala 4,0 2,2 1,9 Nicaragua 3,0 1,5 1,6 Panama 10,8 4,8 6,0 Paraguay 3,2 0,8 2,5 Dominican Republic 1,6 0,7 0,9

2nd. grade


4th. Grade


6th. Grade

Uruguay 16,4 15,0 2,5

The preceding table shows that the situation varies considerably among the countries. Cannabis was most commonly used drug in the three school grades in Uruguay, where the last-year prevalences for this drug are slightly lower than those of “any illicit drug”. In Guatemala the preferred drug of abuse, also in all three grades, was cannabis; however, in this case, the last-year prevalences varied from those for use of any drug. On the other hand, examination of the drug of choice among second grade students revealed that in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Dominican Republic cannabis was not the most prevalent among users of any illicit drug. The situation was similar among fourth and sixth grade students, with the exception of El Salvador and Panama, where, as with Guatemala and Uruguay, cannabis appeared as the most widely consumed drug.

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The graph below shows the level of cannabis use and of other illicit drug use in terms of overall drug use in all students (without distinction by grade).

As the graph shows, more than 50% of school students who take some illicit drug in Uruguay only use cannabis; this percentage increases to almost 80% if we count cannabis-only users along with those who take it in addition to another illicit drug. Seen from another perspective, in Uruguay some 20% of drug takers, use a drug other than cannabis. The profile of school students in that country is quite different from that of students in Paraguay, for instance, where only 36% said they used cannabis (whether exclusively or in addition to another drug), and 64% said they use a drug other than cannabis. A similar situation was encountered in Dominican Republic and, to a lesser extent, in Nicaragua. The table below provides a more detailed description of the types of drugs used in each country:

Chart N 8: Percent Distribution by Type of Drug Among Last Year Consumers

25.1 24.8 21.633.9

21.6 20

53.2

24.7 29.221.2

24.3

14.3 17.1

26.450.2 45.2

57.241.8

64.1 62.9

20.3

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua Panama Paraguay DomincanRepublic

Uruguay

Only Marijuana Marijuana and Other Other Different to Marijuana

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Table N 4: Last Year Prevalence of use of Ilicit Drugs among Students by Country (all

grades)

El Salvador

Guate- mala

Nicara-gua

Panama

Para- guay

Domin. Rep.

Uruguay

Marijuana 2.5 2.3 2.2 7.1 1.7 1.1 9.7 Hashis 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4

Cocaine 0.7 1.3 1.1 1.4 0.6 0.3 1.9 Coca Paste 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.8

Crack 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 Solvents 0.9 1.0 0.9 2.6 0.6 1 1.4

Hallucinogens 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.3 0 0.8 Heroin 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0.3 Opium 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0 0.3

Morphine 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0.3 Ecstasy 0.3 0.4 0.2 1.3 0.2 0.2 0.3

Other Drugs 1.8 0.8 2.4 4.5 0.6 0.8 2.8 Primo - 0.4 - - - - -

Bazuco - 0.1 - - - - - Jarra Loca - - - - 2.1 - - Curitibana - - - - 0.1 - -

Any 4.9 4.1 4.9 12.2 4.3 2.8 11.5 Yellow =First most popular drug Blue = Second most popular drug Green = Third most popular drug The above table itemizes the group of other illicit drugs other than cannabis. When we examine consumption of each separate drug we find that cannabis use is the highest in almost all countries, although, as mentioned, its contribution to overall drug use varies among the countries. Notable among the information contained in the table is the high level of cocaine use reported in Guatemala, where the level was very similar to that of Panama, though overall drug use was a good deal lower. In the case of Paraguay, the drug with the highest level of use was jarra loca, which is a mixture of wine and tranquilizers (for example, diazepam).

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To supplement the foregoing information, the graph below shows the number of drugs used by the school students over the past year.

As shown, a sizeable portion of the schoolchildren in each of the countries reported

using only one drug during the past year. This was case particularly in Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Uruguay, where more than 70% of students who use drugs consume only one drug. By comparison, in Guatemala almost 22% of drug-using students consume two or more drugs.

Chart N 9: Last Year Consumers Distribution by Number of Drug Used

6859.9

73.1 67.177.1 77.1 71.9

19.318.4

16.3 24.1 9.1 14.313.6

6.59.9

4.2 66.1

56.7

6.2 11.9 6.4 2.8 7.8 3.6 7.8

0

20

40

60

80

100


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

1 Drug 2 Drugs 3 Drugs 4 Drugs

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The table below shows the distribution of students who reported use of a single drug in year prior to the survey; the information is organized according to drug type.

Table N 5: Percent Distribution of Consumers of One Drug by Drug of use and Country.

El Salv. Guatemala Nicaragua Panama Paraguay DomR. Uruguay Marijuana 36,9 41,1 29,5 50,5 30,7 25,9 74,1 Hashish 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 3,7 0,3 Cocaine 3,2 10,7 8,8 4,0 5,3 0,0 1,5 Coca Paste 1,1 1,0 1,0 0,6 3,5 4,6 0,9 Crack 2,1 1,0 0,5 0,8 0,4 0,9 0,0 Solvents 15,0 15,2 8,3 10,8 7,0 31,5 2,9 Hallucinogens 2,7 1,0 1,0 0,2 0,9 0,9 0,9 Heroin 0,0 0,5 0,0 0,0 0,4 0,0 0,3 Opium 0,5 0,5 0,0 0,2 0,0 0,0 0,0 Morphine 0,5 1,5 0,5 0,0 0,4 0,0 0,6 Ecstasy 2,1 4,1 1,6 6,6 2,2 1,9 0,0 Jarra Loca - - - 39,5 - - Other 35,8 23,3 48,7 26,2 9,6 30,6 18,7 Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

As the foregoing shows, in most of the countries the most commonly taken drug among single drug users is cannabis, particularly in Uruguay where it accounted for 74%. In Paraguay the most commonly used drug is jarra loca, while in Dominican Republic solvents and inhalants are the most often used. In sum, it would be fair to say that schoolchildren in the countries covered by this report are mainly single drug users, with percentages that range from 60% in Guatemala to 77% in Paraguay and Dominican Republic. However, while in Guatemala 41% use only cannabis, in Dominican Republic the most used type of drug is solvents and in Paraguay jarra loca.

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5.- USE OF TRANQUILIZERS AND STIMULANTS

This section contains the findings on use of tranquilizers and stimulants without a prescription. The graphs below show the prevalence of use of tranquilizers for the past year, by sex and grade in each country.

Chart N 10: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Tranquilizers by Gender and Country

6.5

4

7.7

5.35.

9

4.5

3.3

2.2

9.9

6.6

12.8

6.5

9.4

4.8

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Female Male

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua PanamaParaguay Domincan Republic Uruguay

18

In first place, as expected, in all the countries considerably more female than male

students reported use of tranquilizers without a prescription, the highest rate being that of Dominican Republic and the lowest, Panama. This is interesting because Panama recorded the highest rate of illicit drug use and Dominican Republic the lowest. A similar trend was observed in Paraguay; that is, a low level of illicit drug use and a high incidence of tranquilizer use.

Chart N 11: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Tranqulizers by Grade and Country

3

4.8

9

5.3

7.2

8.5

3.9

6 6.6

2

3

4.2

7.2

9.3

8.4

7.9

10.8

12.2

5

8.4

10.9

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2nd. 4th. 6th.

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua PanamáParaguay Dominican Republic Uruguay

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As to the grade of students, also as expected, tranquilizer use went up in line with school grade (and, therefore, with age) in all countries. Dominican Republic scored the highest rates of use in all grades; however, Uruguay had the second highest level of use for sixth graders, ahead of Paraguay, which held that position in second and fourth grade students. Panama had the lowest rates across all three grades.

The following graphs show use of stimulants without a prescription, by both sex

and grade.

Chart N 12: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Stimulants by Gender and Country

3.3 3.

53.8

3.2

4

3.9

3

2.6

3.1

4.1

6.2

4.4

4.9

3.7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Female Male

Rat

e (%

)


20

Stimulant use by sex varies from country to country: in Dominican Republic and Uruguay female students were in a clear majority, whereas in Paraguay male students were ahead of female students by one percentage point. In the other countries the prevalence of use according to sex was fairly even. It was interesting again to note that the lowest rate of unprescribed stimulant use was in Panama, where it was nearly half that of Dominican Republic.

The analysis by grade reveals a somewhat confusing picture, in that, as opposed

to tranquilizers, use did not increase in line with student grade across all the countries. Thus, the differences noted at fourth grade between Dominican Republic and Uruguay and the other countries disappeared in the sixth grade, where there was a good deal more uniformity in the behavior of the countries.

Chart N 13: Last Year Prevalence of Use of Stimulants by Grade and Country

2.2

3.2

5.4

2.6

3.7

5.1

2.7

4.1

5.5

2.1

3

4

3.1

4

3.5

4.1

6.9

5.5

2.9

6.3

4.5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

2nd. 4th. 6th.

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Dominican Rep. Uruguay

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6.- TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL USE This section contains the findings on use of licit drugs, in particular tobacco and alcohol. In contrast to illicit drugs, where the results were given in terms of prevalence of use in the past year, here the results reflect recent use measured according to prevalence for the past month. The graphs below show the results for tobacco use.

Chart N 14: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Cigarettes by Gender and Country

7.7

15.4

9.1

22.7

9.3

22.7

15.5

20.5

11.5

17

3.7

3.8

36.5

25.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Female Male

Rat

e (%

)


22

As can be observed, there is considerable dissimilarity in the last-month prevalences for tobacco use in the countries. In first place we find that the rates of use in schoolchildren in Uruguay are substantially higher than in the other countries, in particular among female students, for whom the figures are similar to other countries in the hemisphere with high use rates (for instance, in Chile the last-month prevalence rate in schoolgirls is 39%). Except for Uruguay, all the countries reported higher figures for male students than for female students. Of particular interest was the low level found in Dominican Republic. Again with the exception of Panama, in particular for female students, the Central American countries had quite similar rates of use and also resembled those of Paraguay. A similar state of affairs was found upon analyzing use according to grade.

Chart N 15: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Cigarettes by Grade by Country

6.8

12.3

18

12.3 15

.1 18.1

10.5

18.3

18.4

13.4

20.2

23

7.7

16

21.7

2.2

3.8 5.

7

22.8

38.7

38.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2nd. 4th. 6th.

Rat

e (%

)


23

The countries fall into three clear groups for each grade of student. At one end of the scale is Dominican Republic, with a low level of use across all grades (tobacco use was even found to be lower in sixth grade students than among second grade students in all the other countries). At the opposite end of the spectrum is Uruguay with higher levels than the other countries (though slightly lower than Chile in all three grades: 24% in second grade, 41.5% in fourth, and 52% in sixth). Finally, at an intermediate level and with similar rates of use were the Central American countries and Paraguay (closely resembling prevalences in the United States: 10.2% in second grade, 16.7% in fourth, and 24.4% in sixth). The following two graphs display the results for alcohol use prevalence in the past month.

Chart N 16: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Alcohol by Gender and Country

14.7 17

.8

24.7

31.8

19.5

30.1

36

43.3

39.1 40

.8

38 39.1

52.4

59.1

0

20

40

60

Female Male

Rat

e (%

)

El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua PanamaParaguay Dominican Rep. Uruguay

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There were significant differences in reported rates of alcohol use in the past month among the countries for both male and female students. A high level of use was noted in Uruguay, where six out of 10 male students and five out of 10 female students reported having consumed alcohol. At the opposite extreme was El Salvador, which reported the lowest rates for both sexes. There was little difference between male and female students in Paraguay and Dominican Republic.

As the graph shows, the differences by school grade are greater than the ones by sex shown above. Indeed, while nine out of 100 second graders in El Salvador reported having consumed alcohol in the past month, the same was true for 29 in every 100 in Panama and 38 in every 100 in Uruguay. The situation is similar in fourth grade students: in Uruguay almost 70 out of 100 reported consumption, compared to 40 out of 100 in Panama, Paraguay, and Dominican Republic. Finally, a high rate of alcohol consumption was encountered among sixth grade students, most notably in Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, and, in particular, Uruguay. In making a comparison with other countries not included in the study it was found that levels of alcohol use in Chile are similar to those of Paraguay, with 21.3% for second grade, 43.4% for fourth grade, and 58.6% for sixth grade. Furthermore, in United States alcohol consumption is slightly lower than it is in Chile and Paraguay, but closer to the levels of Dominican Republic: 20% for second grade, 35.4% for fourth grade, and 47.5% for sixth grade.

Chart N 17: Last Month Prevalence of Use of Alcohol by Grade and Country

9

17

26

23.8 28

.4 33.5

16.3

28.1 31

28.6

44.2

53.7

22.4

43.4

63.1

24.6

41.4

51.2

38.3

66.5

74.6

0

20

40

60

80

2nd. 4th. 6th.

Rat

e (%

)


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7.- PERCEIVED RISK OF DRUG USE

In addition to investigating level of drug use in schoolchildren, the surveys also contained questions regarding the perceived risk of using certain licit and illicit drugs. The overall results (without distinction by sex or grade) are shown in the following table, which contains the percentages of students who consider that drug use poses a serious or very serious risk:

Table 6: Perception of Harmfulness (harmful or very harmful) of drug use

Mar

ijuan

a So

met

imes

Mar

ijuan

a Fr

eque

ntly

Coc

a/cr

ack

Som

etim

es

Coc

a/cr

ack

Freq

uent

ly

Smok

ing

ciga

rette

s

Drin

king

Fr

eque

ntly

El Salvador 76.5 93.3 84.8 94.0 60.0 89.6 Guatemala 82.5 94.7 87.8 94.9 69.4 90.3 Nicaragua 78.7 93.1 86.4 92.8 61.5 89.4 Panama 72.5 87.8 81.9 88.1 59.2 80.5 Paraguay 85.4 93.9 88.8 92.5 68.1 80.2 Dominican Republic 84.3 91.6 87.5 91.6 75.4 84.2 Uruguay 72.8 92.1 88.2 95.4 42.7 67.4 Red = Minors, Blue = Adults In first place, it is important to note the high percentage of students who think that drug use represents a serious or very serious risk. It should be observed that the countries with the highest prevalences of illicit drug use, such as Panama and Uruguay, reported the lowest perceived risk of drug use. The same was true for licit drugs: Uruguay had the highest rates of consumption and reported the lowest percentages in terms of perceived risk.

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8.- DRUG SUPPLY AND EASE OF ACCESS TO DRUGS Other indicators worth analyzing have to do with ease of access to drugs for schoolchildren and if they have recently been offered drugs. As regards ease of access, the following graphs show the percentages of school students who reported that it was easy or very easy for them to acquire drugs.

The students who reported the greatest ease of access to drugs were those of Uruguay, where 60%, that is, six out of 10 school students considered that it was easy or very easy for them to obtain drugs; the percentages for male and female students were very similar. The second highest percentage was found in Panama, where some 45% of students said it was easy or very easy to access drugs. It was precisely these two countries (Uruguay and Panama) that recorded the highest rates of illicit drug use. At the other end of the scale is Dominican Republic where almost 20% of school students considered it easy to obtain drugs. This country reported the lowest levels of drug use. As expected, there is a certain correlation between extent of drug use and ease of access to drugs.

Chart N 19: Accessibility of Ilicit Drugs by Type of School and Country

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Public Private

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Graph 19 contains findings as regards the type of facility attended by students (public or private). As can be seen, in all countries the percentage of students who reported that it was easy or very easy to obtain drugs was higher in private schools; the difference was particularly clear in Dominican Republic, where 29% of private school students thought it was easy to find drugs, compared to 16% in public schools. Paraguay and Panama also reported substantial differences in this regard between the two types of school.

The other indicator examined in this section concerns drug supply. The question put in this connection was if they had ever been offered an illicit drug. Uruguay was the country with the highest number of students who reported having received an offer of illicit drugs at some time in their lives; the four Central American countries and Paraguay

Chart N 19: Accessibility of Ilicit Drugs by Type of School by Country

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Public Private

28

had very similar figures; Dominican Republic had lower figures (one-third of the figure given by Uruguay). In all countries more male than female students reported having been offered drugs.

Chart N 20: Percentage of students who have been offered drugs at least once, by Gender and Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Men Women Total

0

5

10

15

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30

35

40


Uruguay

Rat

e (%

)

Public Private

Chart N 21: Percentage of students who have been offered drugs at least once, by Type of School and Country

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As to type of facility, it was determined that in most countries the percentage of students who had received an offer of illicit drugs was slightly higher in private schools than in public schools. 9.- FINAL COMMENTS As this report shows, the drug problem has different characteristics in each country. The implications of these dissimilar results should be examined in order to come up with a number of possible responses to the problem. In first place are the substantial differences found in terms of the scale of the problem. What causes this difference? How and why does it occur? What is the expected ceiling in terms of magnitude of illicit drug use in our countries? With respect to those countries currently with low rates of use, is this the result of specific intervention programs or are these figures expected to rise in the future? The purpose of this report is not to provide answers to these questions, but to generate inputs to be considered in conjunction with the individual information that each country already possesses on the school population. Furthermore, this and other available information should enable each country to draw its own conclusions in order to devise policies to reduce demand for illicit drugs.

COMPARATIVE REPORT ON NATIONWIDE SCHOOL SURVEYS IN … · COMPARATIVE REPORT ON NATIONWIDE SCHOOL...

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