TESTING FOR FUTURE ADDICTS

SCHOOLS may soon be able to predict the likelihood of pupils becoming
drug abusers or alcoholics. A questionnaire prepared by an academic at
the University of Wales in Swansea aims to identify children at risk
between the ages of 10 and 13, before they have begun experimenting
with drugs.

Ian Sutherland has researched the factors which place children at risk
of becoming addicted. They include low self-esteem, low academic
achievement, and substance abuse at home. The questionnaire is
designed to establish how many of these risk factors apply. Children
are asked how often they have seen their parents drunk, how often they
drink themselves, and whether they have ever been in trouble with the
police.

From the answers, New Scientist reports, teachers can calculate an
index which measures the overall risk of becoming addicted to drink or
drugs. Tests on almost 10,000 children aged between 10 and 16 show
that the questionnaire picks up the risk factors identified by Dr
Sutherland, but no long-term studies have been done of outcomes,
necessary to prove that these risk factors do lead to abuse.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady