METH USE LINKED TO RISKY BEHAVIOURS

Researchers have discovered that teens who have never done drugs, but
engage in other risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and being
sexually active, are more likely to use crystal meth.

In an article recently published in the medical journal BMC
Pediatrics, the research team, led by Terry Klassen, a professor in
the Department of Pediatrics, has also shown that, among teens already
doing other drugs, those with unstable family environments are most
likely to do crystal meth.

The researchers conducted an exhaustive search of the literature on
methamphetamine use and analyzed the results of a dozen studies to get
a big-picture idea of factors at the individual, family and community
level associated with crystal meth-use among children and
adolescents.

The researchers divided children and adolescents into two groups:
"low-risk," who had no previous drug use, and "high-risk," with a
history of drug use or time in a juvenile detention centre. There were
some clear patterns of risk factors associated with crystal meth use,
they said.

In the low-risk group, the team also found that boys were more likely
to try crystal meth than girls, and that being homosexual or bisexual
was also a risk factor.

But in the high-risk group, more girls than boys used crystal meth. In
this group, drinking was not associated with methamphetamine use, but
a family history of alcohol abuse was. Child abuse was not found to be
significant factor. Having certain psychiatric conditions was a risk
factor for both groups.

"This systematic review presents the best available evidence regarding
factors for methamphetamine use among youth," Klassen said. "Engaging
in high-risk behaviour may be a gateway for methamphetamine use."

The findings clearly indicate that health-care workers and counselors,
"need to conduct a holistic assessment that includes psychiatric,
lifestyle and family history," the study concluded.

"When [parents] start to see a cluster of factors, that probably is a
situation where they should be paying a lot more attention to their
children. It may be more of a wake-up call," Klassen said.