Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS): drug use report 2018

Appendix B: Base Tables

Table B.1 Bases for Figure 2.4 Proportion of pupils who had used drugs in the last month, by sex and age (1998-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
1998	303	314	561	552
2000	624	582	592	571
2002	6027	6274	5278	5271
2004	1810	1736	1672	1742
2006	5821	5834	5649	5451
2008	2655	2710	2310	2337
2010	9788	9532	9118	8746
2013	8703	8657	8203	8047
2015	6209	6550	5496	5498
2018	5684	5634	4719	4844

Table B.2 Bases for Figure 2.6 Proportion of pupils who were drinking alcohol the last time they used drugs, by sex and age (2002-2018)

	13 year old boys who have ever used drugs	13 year old girls who have ever used drugs	15 year old boys who have ever used drugs	15 year old girls who have ever used drugs
2002	948	710	2013	1873
2004	268	210	568	595
2006	434	369	1458	1322
2008	189	147	581	501
2010	512	418	2076	1512
2013	419	322	1478	1260
2015	320	241	1056	803
2018	374	261	1079	811

Table B.3: Bases for Figure 3.1 Proportion of pupils ever offered drugs, by sex and age (1998-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
1998	306	315	562	554
2000	619	577	593	570
2002	5862	6155	5242	5240
2004	1784	1732	1673	1732
2006	5573	5690	5484	5368
2008	2423	2584	2229	2301
2010	9081	9142	8761	8562
2013	8164	8322	7930	7894
2015	6325	6651	5625	5605
2018	5784	5750	4856	4948

Table B.4: Bases for Figure 3.5 Proportion of pupils who think it would be very or fairly easy to get drugs, by age and sex (2002-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
2002	5808	6103	5202	5217
2004	1761	1708	1647	1731
2006	5405	5552	5339	5299
2008	2453	2572	2217	2278
2010	8885	8879	8534	8372
2013	8114	8276	7854	7822
2015	6097	6464	5446	5504
2018	5557	5605	4675	4853

Table B.5: Bases for Figure 4.1 Acceptability of trying cannabis, by age and gender (2006-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
2006	5917	5900	5714	5491
2008	2655	2710	2310	2337
2010	9788	9532	9118	8746
2013	8703	8657	8203	8047
2015	6067	6463	5379	5449
2018	5522	5599	4618	4829

Table B.6: Bases for Figure 4.2 Acceptability of trying cocaine, by age and gender (2006-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
2006	5917	5900	5714	5491
2008	2655	2710	2310	2337
2010	9788	9532	9118	8746
2013	8703	8657	8203	8047
2015	6068	6481	5371	5464
2018	5513	5595	4611	4829

Table B.7: Bases for Figure 4.3 Acceptability of trying glue sniffing, by age and gender (2006-2018)

	All 13 year old boys	All 13 year old girls	All 15 year old boys	All 15 year old girls
2006	5917	5900	5714	5491
2008	2655	2710	2310	2337
2010	9788	9532	9118	8746
2013	8703	8657	8203	8047
2015	6070	6481	5386	5457
2018	5524	5593	4617	4833

Table B.8: Bases for Figure 4.4 Pupils' perceptions of the risks of taking drugs, by age (2018)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Heroin is addictive	11613	9984
Heroin is more dangerous than cannabis	11614	9987
Injecting drugs can lead to HIV	11599	9980
Injecting drugs can lead to Hepatitis C	11576	9967
Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage	11583	9978
Taking cocaine is dangerous	11597	9968
Taking cannabis is dangerous	11560	9940

Table B.9: Bases for Figure 4.5 15 year old pupils' perceptions of the risks of taking drugs, by own drug use (2018)

	Used drugs in the last month	Never used drugs
Heroin is addictive	1238	7699
Heroin is more dangerous than cannabis	1234	7703
Injecting drugs can lead to HIV	1238	7692
Injecting drugs can lead to Hepatitis C	1231	7687
Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage	1235	7695
Taking cocaine is dangerous	1236	7684
Taking cannabis is dangerous	1230	7660

Table B.10: Bases for Figure 4.6 15 year olds who think statements are true (2015 to 2018)

	2015	2018
Heroin is addictive	10904	9984
Heroin is more dangerous than cannabis	10903	9987
Injecting drugs can lead to HIV	10897	9980
Injecting drugs can lead to Hepatitis C	10884	9967
Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage	10891	9978
Taking cocaine is dangerous	10894	9968
Taking cannabis is dangerous	10876	9940

Table B.11: Bases for Figure 4.7 Proportion of pupils agreeing with attitudes to drug taking statements, by age (2018)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
People my age who take drugs need help and advice	11517	9887
All people who sell drugs should be punished	11476	9859
People who take drugs are stupid	11427	9850
It is OK for people to take legal highs	11505	9883
Taking drugs is exciting	11521	9898

Table B.12: Bases for Figure 4.8 15 year old pupils' attitudes to drug taking by drug use status (2018)

	Used drugs in the last month	Never used drugs
People my age who take drugs need help and advice	1112	738
All people who sell drugs should be punished	1116	736
People who take drugs are stupid	1110	736
It is OK for people to take legal highs	1112	744
Taking drugs is exciting	1109	739

Table B.13: Bases for Figure 5.3 Comparison of prevalence of drug use among those who agree/disagree that their school provides them with enough advice and support about taking drugs (2018)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Agree	7266	5784
Disagree	1515	1405

Table B.14: Bases for Figure 5.4 Amount learned about drugs at school, by age (2018)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
The risks to your health from drugs	10814	9370
The effects that taking drugs can have on other areas of your life	10812	9379
That your ability to make decisions can be affected by taking drugs	10790	9379
That people's views about smoking, drinking and taking drugs can be taking affected by the things their friends say or do	10782	9354

Table B.15: Bases for Figure 5.5 Comparison of prevalence of drug use among 15 year olds, by how much they say they have learned about drug topics in school (2018)

The risks to your health from drugs

	13 year olds	15 year olds
A lot	5927	4878
A little	2886	2909
Not much/not at all	1288	1129

The effects that taking drugs can have on other areas of your life

	13 year olds	15 year olds
A lot	5073	4143
A little	3182	3203
Not much/not at all	1613	1455

That your ability to make decisions can be affected by taking drugs

	13 year olds	15 year olds
A lot	4834	4155
A little	3208	3189
Not much/not at all	1743	1451

That people's views about smoking, drinking and taking drugs can be taking affected by the things their friends say or do

	13 year olds	15 year olds
A lot	4756	3886
A little	3335	3269
Not much/not at all	1567	1555

Table B16: Bases for Figure 5.6 Confidence in health and wellbeing choices, by age (2018)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Having the information you need to make the right choices about your health and wellbeing	10859	9465
Saying no to doing something that you don't want to do	10847	9436
Knowing where to go for information and support about substance related issues	10822	9435
Avoid getting into risky situations due to drugs	10772	9384

Table B.17: Bases for Figure 5.7 Comparison of prevalence of drug use among 15 year olds, by confidence in future health and wellbeing choices (2018)

Having the information you need to make the right choices about your health and wellbeing

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Confident	9357	7943
Not very/not at all confident	630	801

Saying no to doing something that you don't want to do

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Confident	9290	8155
Not very/not at all confident	699	612

Knowing where to go for information and support about substance related issues

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Confident	8512	6972
Not very/not at all confident	1273	1639

Avoid getting into risky situations due to drugs

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Confident	9287	7950
Not very/not at all confident	500	637

Table B.18: Bases for Figure 6.1 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by family variables (2018)

Family status

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Single parent	2089	1893
Step parent	907	874
Both parents	8001	6682

Maternal awareness

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Median and above	7338	5679
Below median	3893	3993

Paternal awareness

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Median and above	6367	4488
Below median	4380	4665

Family communication

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Likely to talk	9929	8186
Not likely to talk	1432	1514

Caring responsibilities

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Yes	1311	953
No	9846	8802

Table B.19: Bases for Figure 6.2 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by friend variables (2018)

Number of friends

	13 year olds	15 year olds
0	248	328
1	343	380
2	1151	1271
3+	9332	7597

Age of friends

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Older	552	524
Younger	225	195
Same aged	7458	6283
Mixed	2872	2574

Number of evenings spent with friends

	13 year olds	15 year olds
None	1509	1301
1-2 evenings	3584	3581
3-4 evenings	3335	2852
5-6 evenings	1675	1064
7 evenings	640	552

Own cash to spend

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Less than £5 a week	2469	1509
£5 or more, but less than £20 a week	5763	4252
£20 or more a week	2761	3752

Table B.20: Bases for Figure 6.3 Percentage of 15 year old pupils reporting taking part in leisure activities at least weekly, by drug use status (2018)

	Used drugs in the last month	Never used drugs
Listen to music	1205	7659
Use social networking sites	1202	7651
See friends	1208	7655
Watch films	1198	7647
Go to a friend's house	1176	7581
Hang out in the street	1182	7588
Play computer games	1204	7645
Go to the shops	1199	7651
Do sports	1200	7629
Do nothing	1147	7424
Do a hobby	1173	7583
Watch sports	1199	7631
Go to the cinema	1179	7593
Read books	1202	7635
Volunteer	1174	7545
Go to a concert	1177	7589
Read magazines	1202	7634
Go to church	1170	7559
Go to the theatre	1175	7576
Go to the public library	1167	7577
Go to a museum	1172	7580

Table B.21: Bases for Figure 6.4 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by school variables (2018)

How much do you like school at the moment?

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Like it a lot	1856	1038
Like it a bit	5308	4048
Not very much	2260	2540
Not at all	1487	1855

Feeling pressured by schoolwork

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Never	1593	576
Sometimes	6237	3487
A lot of the time	2974	5377

Exclusion

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Has been excluded	1365	1197
Has not been excluded	9267	8168

Truanting

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Not at all	5988	4600
1-3 times	3003	2611
4-10 times	991	1154
More than 10 times	579	899

Post-school expectations and age

	13 year olds	15 year olds
University	5978	4993
FE college	1263	1429
Apprenticeship	512	1073
Working	1114	811

Table B.22: Bases for Figure 6.5 Comparison of prevalence of drug use, by inequalities and geography variables (2018)

Self-rated health

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Very Good/Good	9610	7952
Fair	1705	1654
Bad/Very bad	301	374

Illness or disability

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Yes	1949	5140
No	8885	7274

Emotional and behavioural difficulties (overall SDQ score)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Normal	6436	5351
Borderline	1695	1659
Abnormal	1878	1827

Mental wellbeing (WEMWBS Score)

	13 year olds	15 year olds
Below average	1271	5351
Average	1695	1659
Above average	1878	1827

SIMD Band

	13 year olds	15 year olds
1-most deprived	1568	1232
2	1952	1673
3	2406	2003
4	2912	2483
5- least deprived	2908	2677