Alcohol abuse among young offenders
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1Psychological Service, Department for Family and Community Services, Adelaide, SA.
Objective:
To investigate alcohol use and abuse among young offenders.
Design:
A questionnaire survey.
Setting:
Two centres in Adelaide used for the custodial care of young offenders.
Participants:
All consecutive admissions involving stays of more than 24 hours. All subjects were adjudicated delinquents. Usable questionnaires were obtained from 197 of the 207 subjects (95.2%) approached.
Main Outcome Measure:
The Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS).
Results:
Most respondents (72.1%) obtained AAIS scores that fell into the problem drinking range, with 24.4% scoring in the "alcoholic-like" drinker category. Comparison with a South Australian student sample indicated much higher rates of alcohol consumption among the young offenders. The majority (56.9%) had been drinking at the time of their last offence.
Conclusions:
Offending and the use of alcohol by adolescents are closely linked. Young offenders are at an extremely high risk of alcohol abuse. It is recommended that greater treatment and prevention efforts be directed toward this group.