Substance Use and Perceptions of Safety: Insights from a National Indigenous Youth Cohort

Heidi Starr

Background:

Young people who smoke or drink alcohol are often viewed as making a conscious choice, with little recognition of the role that feelings of safety—or the lack thereof—may play in their behaviour. There is inadequate exploration and understanding of the relationship between perception of safety and substance use in adolescents. This paper describes this relationship in Aboriginal young people aged 13-15, examining self-reported feelings of community safety during both day and nighttime as well as substance use behaviours (cigarettes, vaping and alcohol use).

Methods:

Data was collected through child self-report in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LCIS). Associations between individual substances and safety during the day and nighttime were quantified using multiple independent sample T-Tests and Kruskal-Wallis analysis.

Results:

Adolescents who use substances are more likely to feel unsafe in their community at night. Alcohol, in particular, was associated with feelings of an unsafe community during both day and nighttime.

Conclusions:

Colonisation has disconnected Aboriginal children from cultural practices impacting their sense of self and community. Substance use in adolescence exacerbates these issues by reducing community safety. Continued exploration of the social predictors of these associations would help to address disconnection, intergenerational patterns of trauma and coping mechanisms and disruption to community safety.