Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2007 - Drug Misuse Information ...

Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Prevalence
repeated in 1996, 2000 and 2003. In 2004 the survey became known as the Scottish Crime and Victimisation
Survey. The latest sweep was carried out in 2006 and published in September 2007. The surveys were primarily
designed to ask people about their experiences and perceptions of individual and household crime, however,
each survey also included a self-completion component that asked adults about their use of drugs. This section
focuses on the findings of the 2006 survey.
The 2006 survey had an achieved sample of 4,988 respondents, an overall response of 70%. The self
completion module was completed by 4,701 respondents between the ages of 16 to 59 years old, 66% of the
issued sample and 94% of all the 4,988 interviewed 1 .
As in previous sweeps, in 2006 the questions covered the following drugs: amphetamines; cannabis; cocaine;
crack; ecstasy; heroin; methadone/physeptone; LSD; magic mushrooms; temazepam; valium; glues, gas or
aerosols; anabolic steroids and poppers, ketamine was also included. The main questions covered:
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whether they had ever taken the drug
whether they had been offered the drug in the last year
whether they had taken the drug in the last year
whether they had been offered the drug in the last month
whether they had taken the drug in the last month.
There are, of course, limitations to self-report data on drug use that may result in an underestimation of drug
use prevalence. It is possible that problematic drug users are less likely to have taken part in the SCVS. There
may also be a stigma attached to taking some drugs, especially ‘hard’ drugs such as heroin and crack, which
again might have resulted in some under-reporting.
The 2006 SCVS was carried out by BMRB Social Research, with interviews being conducted between June and
December 2006.
Changes to Survey Methods
The 2006 survey was carried out using Computer Assisted Self Interviewing (CASI). Previously the selfcompleted
sections of the survey had been collected using paper and pen. The CASI method of obtaining
information on drug use has been found to result in more accurate disclosure and estimation of drug use. For
this reason it is not possible to make valid comparisons between findings in 2006 and previous survey sweeps
(for more detail see the full survey report). This is in keeping with the British Crime Survey’s experience of
switching to CASI in the self completion section in the early 1990s. The use of CASI is likely to have reduced
the effect of under-reporting caused by stigma attached to taking drugs. In terms of checking the ‘honesty’ of
responses, the SCVS asks about a fake drug. Any respondents who report using the fake drug are excluded from
analysis.
References
1 Brown, M., Bolling, K.; Drugs Misuse in Scotland: Findings from the 2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey. Scottish Government Social Research 2007
Further information
Information on the Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey 2006 is available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/criminal/CJResearch/scvs06/intro
The full report of Drug Misuse in Scotland: Findings from the 2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey is
available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/26163243/0
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Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2007