Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) is the primary source of data on substance using behaviour among young people in Scotland. SALSUS comprises a long running series of national surveys of young people's substance use. From 1982 to 2000 these surveys were carried out jointly in Scotland and England to provide national information on smoking behaviour (from 1982), drinking behaviour (from 1990) and drug use (from 1998). In 2002, Scotland introduced its own (SALSUS) survey which provides national policy makers with vital information to help develop and evaluate policies to reduce the prevalence of substance use in Scotland and to monitor progress towards achieving Scottish Government targets. Every four years the survey also provides information on substance use for local areas. These data are used to help inform local service planning, for example, to develop Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) strategic and delivery plans and to monitor progress towards achieving a number of the ADP core indicators. All SALSUS datasets are available via the UK Data Archive. Further information about the series is available from the NHS National Services Scotland Information Services Division SALSUS webpage and from the Scottish Government SALSUS webpages. August 2013: Variables excls1-4, covering school exclusions in years 1-4 were removed from the 2002, 2004 and 2006 data at the request of the NHS National Services Scotland's Caldicott Guardian.
The 2002 SALSUS survey was undertaken in parallel with the 2002 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC). The broad approach taken to understanding health and health behaviours in relation to lifestyle and the social context developed by the HBSC international study (Wold, et al., 1993; Currie, et al., 1998; 2001) was utilised by SALSUS through the inclusion of selected questionnaire items from HBSC to contextualise adolescent substance use. Other sources were also used where appropriate. Questions used to estimate prevalence and patterns of smoking, drinking and drug use and the availability and sources of supply of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs were continued from previous surveys in the series. Please note that this dataset does not include variables obtained from questions taken from the HBSC series of surveys or any derived variables created using these items. The annotated questionnaire included in the documentation indicates the variables concerned.
Main Topics:
The main topics covered in this study include: patterns of smoking, drinking and drugs use availability of tobacco, drugs and alcohol family attitudes to smoking and alcohol family and friends smoking behaviour truancy and exclusion leisure activities
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Self-completion
