National School Survey Report 2023
The Ministry of Legal Affairs, through the Department for National Drug Control, has completed the sixth implementation of a National School Survey on Drug Consumption and Health among middle and senior school students.
A Government spokesperson said, “This National School Survey was a collaborative effort between the Department for National Drug Control and the Department of Education. This survey serves to update information collected in the last survey, which was conducted in 2019; and provides trends and information related to the drug situation amongst Bermuda’s youth, both legal and illegal drug use; track emerging drug use; assess a host of antisocial behaviours; and discover the levels of protective factors that help guard against those behaviours.
“Patterned after National School Surveys conducted regionally and internationally, this survey was comprised on two questionnaires. A standardised survey tool provided to Bermuda by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission [CICAD], a division of the Organization of American States [OAS] and the Communities That Cares Youth Survey [CTC] that assesses risk and protective factors which are critical to understanding and preventing substance abuse.
“Administered the week of October 9th to 13th, 2023, 2,701 students in grade levels M2 through S4 [10-18 years], attending public, private, and home schools on the Island, responded the survey. Of the targeted students there was an 86.2% response rate. Students’ participation in the survey was voluntary; but subject to the consent of a parent or guardian.
“The results of this survey showed:
- “Fewer students have experimented with substance use: Just under half [48.4%] of the students have reported use of at least one drug in their lifetime, down from 52.8% of students in 2019.
- “Experimentation with ATODs has decreased: Fewer students have tried alcohol [42.0%] compared to 2019 [45.2%]. Similarly, there were fewer students who have tried marijuana [12.6%] and cigarettes [3.5%] in 2023 in comparison to the students in 2019 [18.3% and 5.2%, respectively]. Other lifetime prevalence ranges from a low of 0.5% for GHB to a high of 3.9% for cannabis resin.
- “Current use of substances was most prevalent among older students: Current alcohol use for all respondents among all substances ranges from a low of 3.7% among M2 students to a high of 26.0% among S4 students; for marijuana, from a low of 0.7% among M2 students to a high of 14.4% among S4 students; and for cigarettes, from a low of 0.2% among M3 students to a high of 1.9% among S3 students.
- “Gender differences were apparent: In both the lifetime and current reference periods, males were more likely to use cigarettes [3.8% and 1.1%] and crack [0.8% and 0.5%], along with other illegal drugs [1.9% and 1.3%]; while alcohol use was more prevalent among females [46.0% and 13.5%]. Marijuana use was higher for females [14.5% versus males 10.7%] in the lifetime reference period, as well as in the current use reference period in 2023 [6.3% versus males 4.7%].
- “Students mostly get alcohol and marijuana from friends: Slightly more than one in three [35.9%] of the current users of alcohol have reported that they usually get it from a “friend” and that they most often drink at “other social events” [35.2%], at “home” [31.0%], or at “a friend’s house” [19.1%]. Just over half [52.6%] of the lifetime marijuana users indicated that they usually get it from a “friend” and that they most often use it “at a friend’s house” [25.0%] or “at home” [22.6%].
- “Students were passengers in motorized vehicles operated by persons under the influence: Nearly one in 12 students [8.2%] indicated that he/she has been on a bike driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol; with a higher proportion [22.1%] of students indicating the same about being in a car.
- “Second-hand smoking is prevalent in homes and in vehicles: Slightly over one in 10 students [11.2%] has reported that someone smoked tobacco products in their home at least one day in the past week, and about one in every 20 students [6.6%] said the same about someone smoking in a vehicle.
- “Non-medical prescription drug use was very low: Overall, lifetime prevalence of tranquilizers was reported at 0.6% and stimulants at 1.1%; while current use was indicated at 0.7% for tranquilizers and 0.8% for stimulants. These proportions remained notably low since 2019.
- “Alcohol and marijuana are easily accessible; students are being offered to buy or use these substances: Roughly one in 10 [10.4%] students was offered to buy or use marijuana in the past 30 days of the survey and13.7% were offered to buy or use alcohol. Nearly three in 10 students [28.8%] were curious to try an illegal drug, whilst just over one in five [23.7%] reported that the opportunity to try an illicit drug would be taken, if presented.
- “Smoking cigarettes is perceived to be most harmful: The majority of students [92.0%] perceived “smoking cigarettes frequently” to be the most harmful behaviour in terms of health risk when compared to alcohol or marijuana use; whereas “smoking marijuana sometimes” is perceived to be harmful by 81.5% of survey respondents. This finding is similar to 2019.
- “Belief that drugs are in school or surrounding area and students engage in illicit behaviour; although not personally evident: Most students believe that there are drugs in the area surrounding or next to their school [37.7%] or at their school [35.1%]. While there is the belief that students bring, try, or deal drugs at their school [35.3%] or outside the school [31.8%], fewer students reported personally seeing a student selling or giving drugs [12.0%] or using drugs at school or in an area surrounding the school [21.8%].
- “Parents disapprove substance using behaviours and convey dangers; but there is room for improvement: Students reported that the majority [77.6%] of their parents will reportedly get upset if they catch their children coming home tipsy or drunk, with 80.0% getting upset if they find out that students are smoking marijuana; however, nearly three in five [57.3%] of the respondents said that they have not had a serious conversation about the dangers of drugs with their parents/guardians.
- “There are friends who will not disapprove nor convince another to stop smoking marijuana: While most students said that all or some of their friends would try to convince them to stop or disapprove of them smoking marijuana, nearly three in 10 [28.2%] students indicated that no friend will do so.
- “The three highest proportions for protective factors were Peer Prosocial Involvement, School Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement, and Family Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement.
- “The three highest proportions on the risk factor scales were Transitions and Mobility, Family History of Antisocial Behaviour and Sensation Seeking.
- “Many students admitted to having “Stolen Something worth more than $5”, “Getting Suspended from School”, and “Purposely damaged/destroyed property not belonging to you”.
“These findings underscore the dynamic nature of adolescent substance use, emphasizing the ongoing need for vigilant monitoring and targeted intervention to address emerging trends effectively.”
The National School Survey Report 2023 is here [PDF]
