Planet Youth is an evidence-based public health process designed to improve the health and life outcomes for young people through directly addressing the risk and protective factors that determine behaviours.
Through October 2023 2566 young people aged between 14 and 16 years participated in the Planet Youth survey.
Research has shown that children and adolescents who are surrounded by positive environments within the four major domains are much less likely to use or consider using legal or illicit substances and to drop out of school.
Furthermore, engaging in behaviors in one area greatly increases the risks associated with the other areas. For example, young people who use illicit drugs are also more likely to drop out of school than those who do not use drugs.
Dropping out of school is especially problematic, as the most reliable predictors of adult health throughout the lifespan are educational attainment and socioeconomic status (SES) with SES being largely predicted by educational attainment.
As such, interventions that successfully delay the onset of adolescent substance use and encourage students to stay in school, contribute to their health and well-being not only in the present, but also for decades to come.
Planet Youth is a holistic approach which focuses on strengthening protective factors and reducing risk factors for substance use and school drop-out in school-communities. To that end, this report is organised as a tool to promote the collaboration between all concerned community members.
