Word of the Day
Propinquity (n., pro-PING-quih-tee)
Being close to someone or something. This word is similar (both in letters and in meaning) to proximity.
Gif of the Day
Link of the Day
How Iceland curbed its teen substance abuse epidemic
A fascinating story from Mosaic Science: Iceland has dramatically cut its levels of teen substance abuse with programs thatthe rest of the world is starting to copy:
Have you ever tried alcohol? If so, when did you last have a drink? Have you ever been drunk? Have you tried cigarettes? If so, how often do you smoke? How much time do you spend with your parents? Do you have a close relationship with your parents? What kind of activities do you take part in?
In 1992, 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds in every school in Iceland filled in a questionnaire with these kinds of questions. This process was then repeated in 1995 and 1997.
The results of these surveys were alarming. Nationally, almost 25 per cent were smoking every day, over 40 per cent had got drunk in the past month. But when the team drilled right down into the data, they could identify precisely which schools had the worst problems – and which had the least. Their analysis revealed clear differences between the lives of kids who took up drinking, smoking and other drugs, and those who didn’t. A few factors emerged as strongly protective: participation in organised activities – especially sport – three or four times a week, total time spent with parents during the week, feeling cared about at school, and not being outdoors in the late evenings.
“At that time, there had been all kinds of substance prevention efforts and programmes,” says Inga Dóra, who was a research assistant on the surveys. “Mostly they were built on education.” Kids were being warned about the dangers of drink and drugs, but, as Milkman had observed in the US, these programmes were not working. “We wanted to come up with a different approach.”
The whole article is a fascinating look at a social program that has worked well. Go read the whole thing.
ArticlesIcelandTeenagersSubstance abuseSocial programsHow to fix things