Beliefs of young people and their parents about the harmfulness of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco for mental disorders.

OBJECTIVE

To ascertain the beliefs of young people and their parents about the role of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders.

DESIGN, SETTING AND

PARTICIPANTS

Between May and August 2006, a national computer-assisted telephone survey was conducted on a representative sample of Australian youths aged 12-25 years. 3746 young people and 2005 of their parents were presented with a case vignette portraying psychosis, depression, depression with alcohol misuse, or social phobia in a young person.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' beliefs regarding the role of substance use in preventing or dealing with mental disorders in young people.

RESULTS

Over 85% of participants agreed that alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were harmful for the young people in the vignettes, and over 80% of youths agreed that not using marijuana or drinking alcohol in excess would reduce the risk of developing a similar problem.

CONCLUSION

Young people and their parents are fully aware of the negative impact of substance use on mental disorders. Translating this knowledge into behavioural change will be a major challenge for future public health campaigns.