International Journal of Drug Policy 17 (2006) 393–401 Research paper Drug use patterns and behaviours of young people at an increased risk of drug use during adolescence Patrick McCrystal * , Andrew Percy, Kathryn Higgins Queens University of Belfast, Institute of Child Care Research, 5a Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY, United Kingdom Received 23 October 2005; received in revised form 27 April 2006; accepted 22 May 2006 Abstract The drug use patterns and behaviours of 90 young people who reported cannabis use from the age of 11/12 years when they entered post primary schooling and continued to report its use during three further annual data waves of the Belfast Youth Development Study (a longitudinal study of the onset and development of adolescent drug use) until the age of 15 are examined in this paper. The data collected from these young people revealed high levels of both licit and illicit drug use compared with young people who have not used cannabis by the age of 15. The findings suggest the existence of a ‘hidden’ high risk group of young people who continue to attend school regularly. This raises the question about the extent to which their needs are being met by existing school based drugs education and prevention initiatives which are often delivered through a standardised strategy for all school aged young people. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Drug use; Adolescence; School survey; Cannabis; Prevention Introduction The UK Government has made tackling drug misuse a top priority through its strategy of Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain (UKADCU, 1998). A major focus of this strategy is to reduce drug use amongst young people. When this strategy was updated in 2002, the reduction of drug use amongst the most vulnerable groups of young people was highlighted through targeting preventive interventions at those most in need (Home Office, 2002). Such targeted inter- ventions are now seen as particularly beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, universal programmes may be inefficient for addressing the needs of some young people who are not at risk, and they may not be concentrating sufficiently on those in need (Roe & Becker, 2005). Secondly, targeting interven- tions on young people vulnerable to drug use promises not only a more efficient use of resources but also a greater chance of achieving results where they are most needed (Crome & McArdle, 2004). * Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 28 9097 4613; fax: +44 28 9068 7416. E-mail address: P.McCrystal@qub.ac.uk (P. McCrystal). The earlier prevention strategies are implemented, the more likely they are to be effective, and for this reason schools are frequently the setting for such interventions (Kandel & Yamaguichi, 1993). To succeed, targeting preventive inter- ventions relies on the accurate identification of those suscep- tible to drug use. Despite the extensive range of information on risk and protective factors for drug use (e.g. Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992), there is relatively little known about what works to prevent drug use amongst high-risk groups (Roe & Becker, 2005). This paper reports on the drug use patterns and behaviours of a group of young people con- sidered to be at a high risk to drug use based on early onset and continued use of an illicit substance (Anthony & Petronis, 1995; Fergusson & Horwood, 1997; Kandel & Yamaguichi, 1993), a criterion also used to identify young people at risk or vulnerable to drug use (Lloyd, 1998). Whilst much of the research on drug use among young people has focused on older adolescents (e.g. Peretti-Watel and Lorente, 2004; Roe, 2005), surveys of school age young people consistently report cannabis as the most popular illicit substance (e.g. EMCCDA, 2003; Pate, Trost, Liven, & Dowda, 2000; Patton et al., 2002). Studies of cannabis use patterns generally report relatively low level use dur- 0955-3959/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2006.05.007