Teen Drug Use and AbuseData Management

Corey HoekstraJeff Medeiros

Introduction

The subject of teen drug use and abuse is a wide ranged topic therefore, we divided our research into 4 categories:Influences Lifestyles AcademicsBehaviour and Attitude

Background InformationUse of Cannabis and other illicit drugs(2002)

An estimated 3 million people aged 15 and older reported to have used marijuana at least once in 2002.

Although most Canadians were not current users of illicit drugs, more than 10 million people have tried using cannabis at least once in their life.

6.5% of Canadians reported using cannabis in 1989, 7.4% in 1994, and reached 12.2% in 2002.

An estimated 321 000 people who have tried cannabis have also tried either cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, speed, or heroin.

The use of cannabis is most seen in young people and peaks in late teens. Close to 4 out of every 10 teens aged 18 or 19 reported having used marijuana.

Cannabis use decreases after the age of 24.

T as k D es c rip tio n D uratio n

S tart R ec eive o utline fo r C PT 1 D ay

1 D is cuss thes is and res earc h d ata 4 D ays

2 F inal c opy fo r thes is 1 D ay

3 S urvey c reated b y m aking q ues tio ns andhav ing id eas

2 D ays

4 H and o ut and c o llec t s urveys 2 D ays

5 R ecord d ata fro m c o llected s urveys 4 D ays

6 D ata fro m s urveys are p ut into grap hsand o ther things learned thro ugho ut the

s em es ter

6 D ays

7 C reate p res entatio n 4 D ays

8 P rep are fo r the p res entatio n in fro nt o fthe c lass

2 D ays

9 P res ent 1 D ays

F inis h

Task Table

Cause and Effect

Drug Use and Abuse

Gender

MF

Reasons

FriendsStress

Life at Home

Who gets affected

Friends Family

The User

Influences

FriendsFamily

Media

Biases

Steps Used to Prevent Biases: Used Simple Random Sampling to decide on which classes to survey so that we can avoid bias responses.Tried to avoid non-response bias by making sure each individual completed all the questions.Tried to avoid response bias by trying to make the respondents answer the questions truthfully and in a serious manner.

Biases Faced:

Despite our efforts in trying to avoid response bias, we could not stop people from answering the survey dishonestly or not taking it seriously.We were faced with a household bias because one type of responder might have been over represented when we polled the different classes and age groups. We were faced with a non-response bias as some respondents did not complete some of the questions

Respondent InformationAge of Females Polled

A g e s T a lly Fr e q u e n c y < n e w >

1

2

3

4

5

14 IIIII IIIII III 13

15 IIIII IIIII IIII 14

16 IIIII IIIII IIIII IIII 19

17 IIIII IIIII IIIII I 16

18 IIIII 5

Age of Males Polled

A g e s T a lly F r e q u e n c y < n e w >

1

2

3

4

5

14 IIIII IIIII IIII 14

15 IIIII IIIII IIIII III 18

16 IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII III 28

17 IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII I 26

18 IIIII II 7

Se

x

05

10

15202530

F

51015202530

M

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

A g e

Males Polled vs Females Polled Histogram

We had a total of 160 respondents and of those 160, 67 were female and 93 were male between the ages of 14-18.

Topic 1: Influences

M ed ia F am ily

F rien ds

6 3

12

7 3

2

3

Female Population

VS

M ed ia F am ily

F rien ds

Male Population

11

22

6

10 5

3

4

By this venn diagram, we see that 24/31 or 77% of females areinfluenced to do drugs by their friends. As for males, 41/61 or 67% ofmales are influenced to do drugs by their friends.

Topic 1: InfluencesSimulation Survey

Inf luenced

S e x In f lu e n c e d T a lly Fr e q u e n c y < n e w >

1

2

3

4

Male Yes IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII

IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII I

61

Male No IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII II 32

Female Yes IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII I 31

Female No IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII I 36

Inf luenced

S e x In f lu e n c e d T a lly F r e q u e n c y < n e w >

1

2

3

4

Male Yes IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII

IIIII IIIII IIIII

60

Male No IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII III 33

Female Yes IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII III 33

Female No IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIII 34

Actual Survey

Our simulation survey shows that 60/93 or 65% males said yes they were influenced to do drugs and 33/93 or 35% said no they were not. It also shows that 33/67 or 49% females said yes they were influenced to do drugs and 34/67 or 51% were not.

Our actual survey shows that 61/93 or 66% males said yes they were influenced to do drugs and 32/93 or 34% said no they were not. It also indicates that 31/67 or 46% of females said yes they were influenced to do drugs and 36/67 or 54% were not.

Topic 1: InfluencesPermutations

How many ways can we arrange the order of influences on teen drug useby media, friends and family?

P(3,3)= 3! (3-3)! = 3x2x1 = 6

Thus, there are 6 different permutations for ordering those 3 options according to most important.

We had to use permutations rather than combinations in this example because order of strong influences does matter.

Topic 2: Lifestyles

Q4

1d

_I_

ha

ve

_a

_h

ap

py

_h

om

e_

life

0

200

400

600

800

don't know

0

200

400

600

800

no

200

400

600

800

yes

Q 2 _ A g e _ in _ y e a r s

14 15 16 17 18

1997-1998 HBSC Histogram

In this histogram, we see that the majority of teens do feel that they have ahappy life at home and that fewer teens say they do not.

Topic 2: LifestylesQuestion: Are you satisfied with your life at home and the relationship with your parents?

Quite satisfied

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

It's Horrible

YesNo

YesNo

YesNo

YesNo

14

12

Tree Diagram

Topic 2: LifestylesHours Spent A w ay From Home W ith Fr iends

Hour s _Spe nt_Aw ay_... Fr e que ncy

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 8

2 15

4 32

6 52

8 34

10 10

12 9 Frequency = -0.0893Hours_Spent_A w ay_W ith_Fr iends_W eekly + 23.4 ; r2 = 0.00053

Hours_Spent_A w ay_W ith_Fr iends_W eekly mean = 6

Hours_Spent_A w ay_W ith_Fr iends_W eekly median = 6

Hours_Spent_A w ay_W ith_Fr iends_W eekly s tdDev = 4.32049

10

20

30

40

50

60

Hour s _Spe nt_Aw ay_W ith_Fr ie nds _W e e k ly

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Hours Spent A w ay From Home W ith Fr iends Line Scatter Plot

By looking at this graph we see:The variance is 0.00053. The residual value/ coefficient of correlation is 0.023021728 which means there is a weak positive correlation.The mean value is 6The median value is 6The standard deviation is 4.32049

Topic 2: Lifestyles

0 Hrs 12 Hrs6 Hrs2 Hrs 4 Hrs 8 Hrs 10 Hrs

X = 8

68% of the data lies between 4hrs and 8hrs95% of the data lies 2 hrs and 10 hrs99.7% of the data lies between 0hrs and 12hrs

Z-Score:

z= x-mean std dev = 8-6 4.32

=0.46 (z-score) =0.6772

Therefore, the point of 8 hrs away from home per week lies in the 68th percentile. Thus, those that are away from home for 8 hrs or more are 32% of the normal distribution.

Topic 3: Academics We asked in our surveys what their plans were after high school. They were asked to rank them according to what they were most likely to pursue. The options we listed were university, college, workplace, unemployment, armed forces, and uncertain.

Example: What is the probability that a student selects to go to university as their first choice then college as their second?

P(A n B) =P(A) x P(B) =1 x 1 6 5 = 1 30

Therefore, there is a 1 chance that each student may select 30 university as their first option and college as their second.

= 5

From what we have gathered, we see that the majority of our respondents have chosen to attend university or college after high school, and that others were uncertain. This may have been because of the younger age group that took our survey (i.e. Grade Nines.)

Topic 3: Academics

Topic 3: Academics Grade Average of Drug Users

0

10

20

30

40

50

Below60%

60-69% 70-79% 80-89% 90%+

Averages

Fre

qu

en

cy

Series1

Grade Average of Non-Drug Users

05

10152025303540

Below60%

60-69% 70-79% 80-89% 90%+

Averages

Fre

qu

en

cy

Series1

Our graph shows that students who use drugs have lower averages. The mode or most frequent average for drug users would be 60-69%. As for students who do not use drugs, they tend to have much higher averages. The mode or most frequent average for non-drug users would be 80-89%.

Topic 3: Academics

count

I don't like it at all

I don't like it very much

I like it a little

I like it a lot

Frequency of Feelings_About_School

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Feelings About School For Those That Do Drugs Bar Chart

count

I don't like it at all

I don't like it very much

I like it a little

I like it a lot

Frequency of Feelings_About_School

5 10 15 20 25

Feelings About School For Those That Don't Do Drugs Bar Chart

By looking at these graphs, we see that those that do drugs tend to have a resentment towards school and tend to have lower averages. Those who do not participate in taking drugs have a much better attitude towards school and their averages seem to be higher.

Topic 4: Behaviors and AttitudesThe Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth indicated that the use of marijuana within 16 and 17 year olds when participating in risky behaviors was 1.8 to 2.6 times higher than those who use marijuana for either stress related problems or family issues. Among those 16 and 17 year olds who reported staying out all night without permission, 72% reported that they smoked marijuana. As

for those 16 and 17 year olds who reported to have taken money from their parents, 64% reported that they smoked marijuana. And finally, those who reported that they had damaged others’ property or participated in vandalism, 69% reported that they smoked marijuana.

Topic 4: Behaviors and AttitudesAccording to the Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Transition into Adolescence, it is clear that friends heavily influence an adolescents decisions. Around one in seven of adolescent’s reported to belong in a group that did risky things and girls were just as likely to be a part of such a group as boys were. The adolescent’s who considered themselves to be in such a group were more likely to report in risk taking behaviors such as skipping school, getting into fights, stealing and even smoking.

They consider adolescents to be between the age of 12-17

Topic 4: Behaviors and AttitudesAlso from the Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Transition into Adolescence, many adolescents start to smoke at the age of 12 to 13. Along with the adolescents who were in groups that took part in risky behavior, peer influence also seems to play an important role for those that were reported to have started smoking. 84% of the adolescents who reported smoking also had threeor more friends who were also smoking. Also, adolescents who were reported being in a group that did risky things are 5.5 more times likely to smoke. Those who smoked reported to have difficult relationships with their parents and also had physically aggressive behaviors than those who did not.

ConclusionTopic 1: Influences

Influences play a big role when it comes to teens and drugs. Many teens are influenced to do drugs because they either have friends who are doing them or see their favorite rapper smoking on their latest music video. Thus, this shows that our first topic was correct and that teens are influenced to take drugs.

Topic 2: Lifestyles

Although many teens do spend quite a bit of time away from home per week, the majority of them do not take part in using drugs. Hanging out with friends is part of being a teenager and it does not mean that they are taking drugs. There are a few teens however who do use drugs when out with friends but we did not have enough evidence to prove this therefore, our second topic was incorrect.

Topic 3: Academics

This topic proves that those participating in the use of drugs have lower grade averages than those who do not. Those using drugs have a negative attitude towards school while those who don’t use drugs, for the most part, do enjoy school. With that being said, our third topic proves to be true.

Topic 4: Behavior and Attitude

Who you hang around with greatly influences your decisions. If you’re with the wrong crowd, you will engage in risky behaviors. Those that hang out with the wrong crowd and participate in risky behavior are more likely to start smoking or take part in drugs. This is exactly what we were trying to prove in topic four and we succeeded. Your behavior and attitude towards school and how you act plays a large role in the use of drugs.