Abstract
Drug use is commonplace amongst youths. Alongside the family environment, school is the second place which shapes children's opinions and attitudes. The aim of this research was to identify factors in the school environment conducive to the use of legal and illegal drugs as well as those which protect against such actions. In order to answer the formulated research questions a representative sociological survey was carried out within the Podkarpackie province in Poland on a sample of nearly 2,500 students from 27 secondary schools. A stratified random sampling respondents' selection method was applied. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Empirical data analysis showed the existence of interesting relationships between adolescents' school activities and engaging in risky behaviours. The results of this research may be used for prevention programmes.
Highlights
The school environment together with the family and peer environment are the main areas of functioning and activity for adolescents
Taking into account the scale of drug use amongst Podkarpackie province secondary school youths, contacts with marijuana were indicated by 30% of students (675 individuals), use of other drugs was indicated by 9% (202 respondents), smoking tobacco - 23% (511 students) and alcohol consumption by 65% (1468 individuals)
Comparing data collected from amongst Podkarpackie youths with results of research carried out on Polish adolescents in 2015 within the scope of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drug (ESPAD), the results of the present survey are far below the results obtained from second year secondary school students sampled from the general population, where nearly 40% pointed smoking tobacco, 96% reported drinking alcohol, 43% admitted smoking marijuana and between 2 and 17% of students said they used other substances, with actual percentages varying according to drug type (ESPAD Group, 2016)
Summary
The school environment together with the family and peer environment are the main areas of functioning and activity for adolescents. Youths shape their attitudes, assimilate standards, and become a member or an outsider of a given community on the basis of behavioural patterns observed within these environments. Through observing, adopting and rejecting significant behaviours within their peer environments, individuals arrive at their own definitions (Bandura, 1977; Lee et al, 2004). The family environment should have a stabilising effect on discrepancies which children may encounter as a result of observing conflicting attitudes towards generally accepted standards (honesty, respect, diligence, respect for community property, etc.). Whereas education and learning take place in school, as it provides knowledge and teaches how to enter into social interactions (White, 2006)
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