Social information

Employment status

A detailed breakdown of information about employment status is presented in Table 12. A summary is shown in Chart 6 below.

Employment Status n In 1997/98, of the 8257 individuals whose employment status was recorded, 13 percent were in paid employment. In total, 85 per cent reported that they were unemployed ­ a proportion identical to that reported in 1996/97. Of these, 16 per cent had been unemployed for less than 1 year, 53 per cent for 1 year or longer and 16 per cent had never been employed.

Living Situation

Information about patients/clients living situation, including whether the individual has dependent children, is presented in Table 13. A summary is presented in Chart 7 below.

Living Situation 1997/98 In 1997/98, of the 8278 individuals whose living situation was recorded, 32 per cent were living with their parents, 31 per cent with a spouse/partner and 24 per cent were living alone. One in five (20 per cent) were living with dependent children. (Table13b) Three per cent of individuals reported that they had no fixed abode.

Legal Situation

Information regarding the legal situation of individuals is presented in Table 14. A summary is shown in Chart 8 below.

Legal Situation 1997/98 Ofthe7691individualswhoreported their legal situation, nearly two in every five (38 per cent) had or may have commited an offence giving rise to a legal situation. Fourteen per cent had pending cases; 11 per cent were on bail with a trial pending.

Age at onset of problem drug use and when help first sought

Table 15 and 16 present information on the age of individuals at the onset of their problem drug use and on the time period between the development of that problem and when they first sought help. A Scotland level summary is shown in Charts 9 and 10 below.

Age at onset of problem drug use 1997/98 Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of individuals reported that they were aged under 20 years when their drug use became a problem. Fifteen per cent of individuals reported that they were under 15 years of ag ewhen their drug use became a problem.

Time at onset until help first sought 1997/98 Over a third (35 per cent) of individuals reported that they first sought help over five years after their drug taking became a problem. Fourteen per cent of individuals reported that they first sought help within a year of its onset.

Intention to prescribe

Doctors are asked to record on form SMR22 information regarding their intentions to prescribe to the individual patient (Table 17).

In 1997/98, two thirds of individuals reported by their doctor were either currently on a prescription or the doctor reported that they intended to prescribe. It should be noted that in many cases, the SMR22 form may be completed before the doctor has made a decision as to the treatment to be offered to their patient. This is reflected in 28 per cent of reports to the Database where the doctor had not yet made a decision as to whether to prescribe or not. Only 6 per cent of reports indicated that the doctor had no intention to prescribe.