Harm, tangible or feared: Young Victorians' adverse experiences from others' drinking or drug use

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Harms from alcohol experienced by someone other than the drinker have received increasing attention of late, but have not been compared to harms from others' drug use. The aim of the current study is to compare the reported harms that are attributable to the alcohol use of others to those attributable to drugs, distinguishing between different types of harm in order to highlight how reported harms may be influenced by perception and social standing of use of the substance. METHOD: Respondents aged 16-24 from Victoria, Australia, completed the Victorian Youth Alcohol and Drug Survey (n=5001), including questions on demographics, drug and alcohol consumption, on the types of harms ..