Middle school students and children with no siblings are the most likely to abuse drugs, according to recent research findings.
The health department's Bureau of Controlled Drugs yesterday released the results of research into the use of illegal drugs among elementary, middle and high school students.
The results showed that 9.3 percent of only children regularly use drugs. The corresponding figure for second-born children is 5.3 percent and 4.7 percent for those who are the eldest child in the family.
The survey also found that 7.2 percent of middle school students regularly use illegal drugs, while 5.7 percent of high school students and 2.1 percent of elementary school students use drugs.
The reason for the high percentage of middle school drug abusers may be a result of simple curiosity. Among middle school students, the survey demonstrated that 83.3 percent experimented with drugs out of curiosity.
While curiosity plays an important role in drug abuse, other factors are also involved.
Peer pressure was blamed by 10.2 percent of the respondents, while 8.2 percent abused drugs in an attempt to alleviate daily pressure.
A total of 6.6 percent of male students and 3.8 percent of female students use drugs.
Director-General of the Bureau of Controlled Drugs Li Jih-Hen (李志恆) said the figures are not really alarming.
Around 3 percent of Taiwan's population uses illegal drugs, which is relatively low compared with other nations, Li said.
He said that amphetamines, which were made illegal in 1980, were the most popular among Taiwanese students.
Of the high school students who abuse drugs, 24.6 percent favor amphetamines, while only 1 percent use marijuana.
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