Alcohol and Drug Use by Queensland School Children. The First Report in a Series on the Queensland Alcohol and Drug Study

The principal aim of this study is to provide information on the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs by Queensland school children, and survey their attitudes toward and knowledge about alcohol and drugs. Various questionnaires were presented to a large sample of students from grades six to twelve. Some results were: (1) from grade six to twelve both alcohol consumption and positive attitudes toward alcohol increase greatly; (2) beer and spirits are the more popular; (3) a higher percentage of males then females are drinkers; (4) use of all six drugs studied, except inhalents, increases markedly with grade; (5) after alcohol, cannabis is the next most popular substance during the high school years; (6) sex differences in usage occur only for a few drugs; and (7) younger students perceive little difference in the danger to health of the various drugs, while older students tend to rate the danger more realistically. (SE)