A QUESTIONNAIRE that allows schools to predict an adolescent鈥檚 chances of
becoming a drug abuser or alcoholic will be available in Britain this autumn.
The designer of the test says results of large-scale screenings may one day be
published to inform parents about the numbers of potential drug abusers at
schools in their areas. But some experts doubt whether the test will actually
help children at risk.
Ian Sutherland of the University of Wales at Swansea developed the
questionnaire after years of research into what puts a young person at risk of
substance abuse. His work has shown that low self-esteem, low academic
achievement and substance abuse in the home are among the major factors.
The new questionnaire is meant for children aged between about 10 and
13鈥攖ypically before they have started to abuse drugs or alcohol. It
includes 47 questions designed to tease out sociological and psychological risk
factors. For instance, it asks them about how often they have seen their parents
drunk, how often they drink themselves, and whether they have ever been in
trouble with the police.
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Further questions in the test ask how strongly the children agree or disagree
with statements such as 鈥淚 think my parents are proud of me鈥� or 鈥淚 can feel so
ashamed of things I鈥檝e done I just want to hide鈥�. From the answers, teachers can
calculate a 鈥渟ubstance abuse susceptibility index鈥�, a measure of an adolescent鈥檚
overall risk of substance abuse.
The questionnaire is due to be launched this autumn by the Psychological
Corporation, a London publishing house. Pilot studies of almost 10 000 children
between the ages of 11 and 16 have shown the test picks up all the major risk
factors identified by Sutherland. As yet, however, there have been no long-term
studies to reveal the accuracy of the questionnaire in predicting actual
outcomes.
Sutherland thinks the tool may also be useful for large-scale screenings in
Britain鈥檚 schools. He says the findings might someday be published, allowing
parents to take into account the number of potential substance abusers at
schools in their areas when choosing schools.
The idea has rung alarm bells for some educationalists. Mary James, an
education expert at Cambridge University, says that since league tables of
schools鈥� performances were introduced about a decade ago, the number of pupils
expelled has increased by about 300 per cent as schools try to bolster their
ratings. She thinks the same would happen if results from the new questionnaire
were made public. 鈥淚t would force children out onto the street and into the
shopping malls where they鈥檙e more exposed to the drugs problem,鈥� she says.
Andrea Kopstein of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse doubts that the
questionnaire can be accurate. 鈥淚鈥檓 concerned that it might label kids
unfairly,鈥� she adds. And Mary Mustoe of Norwich council鈥檚 drug action team
points out that knowing a child鈥檚 potential for substance abuse may not help
prevent it. 鈥淥ften these predictive tools are used as a stick rather than a
support,鈥� she says. Worse still, she says, labelling a child as a potential drug
addict or alcoholic can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Sutherland admits that the test could be misused. 鈥淚t depends on the
motivation of the people who are gathering the data,鈥� he says. He expects local
education authorities to ensure the questionnaire is put to good use.