This portal website contains search facilities for finding information in over 550 quality reviewed alcohol and other drugs websites. Search screens are available for finding information for general, professional or school communities. The search screen for school communities includes links to websites containing information on student welfare, drug education policy, curriculum materials, educational resources, research projects and professional development, as well as providing information to students and parents. The Australian Drug Information Network also contains project, program and resource databases that can be searched and added to from this site.
Australian Drug Information Network 
Australian school students develop skills and habits of resilience and emotional intelligence in ways that are different from North American young people. Many Australian school students learn best by actively doing and then later, reflecting, many of them are experiential learners. Therefore, resilience, emotional intelligence and social competencies can be best developed as a set of habit. Discusses key social competencies that underpin emotional intelligence and resilience, opportunities for the development of social competencies, planning for the promotion of social competencies.
Blueprint for building social competencies in children and adolescents 
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The increase use of cannabis among young people in the 1990s has meant that in some countries it more common than tobacco smoking. It is relatively well accepted that cannabis triggers the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in predisposed people s well as exacerbating the symptoms generally. This editorial reviews several studies conducted examining the links between the use of cannabis and schizophrenia and depression.
Cannabis and mental health
This paper reports on a six year cohort study conducted on a sample of secondary school students from Victoria, Australia to determine whether cannabis use in adolescence predisposes to higher rates of depression and anxiety in young adulthood. The study concluded that for teenage girls frequent cannabis use predicts later depression and anxiety.
Cannabis use and mental health in young people
Resilience refers to the ability to overcome adversity and obstacles. Resilient learners are therefore able to persist with problems and have a higher tolerance for not knowing. The middle years of school, especially the transition between primary and secondary school, is a critical time for the promotion of resilience in students. This paper outlines some thoughts on the characteristics of resilient learners during the transition period.
Creating resilient learners (819.4 KB)
To ensure that young people move from surviving to thriving in the 21st century there needs to be bold programs implemented, not only mental health or social skills programs, but also economic and training initiatives that create for young people a meaningful role in society. The author provides a snapshot of recent research in the key areas of general mental health, adolescent mental health, abuse, and suicide. He states that if we are serious about promoting better mental health in young Australians, we need to develop ways of promoting self-esteem, resilience and emotional intelligence that are suited to their learning styles.
From surviving to thriving in the 21st century (99.7 KB)
Newsletter related to the Resilience project looking at young people, well being and resilience. It provides a snap shot of what young people have to say about the family, school, peers and the community. In particular protective factors for young people, and relation of resilience and protective factors to substance abuse.
Mind of youth
The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) aims to advance the capacity of human services organisations and workers to respond to alcohol and other drug related problems. The website contains information on current NCETA projects, including the funding body, synopsis and anticipated project milestones or products. A section on workforce development is included on the site, containing a glossary, frequently asked questions and issues pertaining to workforce development in the alcohol and other drugs field.
National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction
The National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) aims to conduct and disseminate quality research that contributes to the prevention of harmful drug use. The website provides information on their research activities in the areas of alcohol policy, community and school interventions, illicit drug use and substance use among indigenous Australians. The site also contains a bibliographic and project database of indigenous Australian alcohol and other drugs resources, as well as copies of the NDRI bimonthly serial “Centrelines” and alcohol indicator bulletins.
National Drug Research Institute
This compendium includes statistics of substance use amongst Canadian youth, principles for developing and implementing effective prevention programs and exemplary current programs. Although the compendium focuses on the Canadian situation, the principles for effective programming to prevent and reduce youth substance use harm are not geographically specific. The principles include building a strong framework, striving for accountability, understanding and involving young people, and creating an effective process.
Preventing substance use problems among young people
Covers the following topics: converging agendas of public health and adolescent health, the current health profile of young Australians, adolescent and youth health: a web of causal connections, scope for preventive and health promotional intervention during adolescence, and the scope for health program development in adolescence.
Scope for youth health development
Follow up study on a 1969-1970 survey of Swedish conscripts, which provided data on self reported use of cannabis and other drugs, and on several social and psychological characteristics. Arguments had been given that the association between use of cannabis in adolescence and subsequent risk of schizophrenia reported may be due to use of other drugs and that personality traits may have confounded results. This study performed a further analysis to address these uncertainties and extended the follow up period to identify additional cases. Results confirmed original findings that cannabis use is associated with and increased risk of developing schizophrenia and that this association is not explained by use of other psychoactive drugs or personality traits relating to social integration.
Self reported cannabis use as a risk factor for schizophrenia in Swedish conscripts of 1969
This report summarises relevant literature on the structural determinants of youth drug use. It aims to provide information on macro-environmental influences on youth drug use, and how government policies and programs can positively or negatively influence those macro-environmental factors to prevent drug use and harms. The macro-environmental influences investigated were the economic, social and physical environments.
Structural determinants of youth drug use
Reports on one phase of a three year research project exploring the concept of resilience in relation to Australian children’s lives. Fifty five 9-12 year old children experiencing ‘tough lives’ are interviewed a year after an initial interview focusing on the children’s protective factors. The study found that it is hard to generalise about the most effective ways to mobilise and implement protective factors as this depends on the individual and their particular circumstances.
Tracking student resilience
This study asked 9-12 year old and their teachers from five primary schools in an economically depressed urban area in South Asutralia what they thought made the difference between 'kids with tough lives who do O.K.' and 'kids with tough lives who don't do O.K.'. The paper highlights the difference between teachers' and children's views on the importance of school achievement, competence and success in promoting resilience by looking at the three different protective factors, family, school and community.
What makes the difference?
Reports on a study into resilience carried out in five primary schools in an economically depressed urban area in South Australia. Presents participants’ views on what protective factors seem to be important in promoting resilience. Highlights difference between teachers’ and children’s views on the importance of school achievement, competence and success in promoting resilience.
Young adolescents displaying resilient and non-resilient behaviour