Page 50 - Violence and Mental Health
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4. INCIDENCE OR SITUATIONS WHICH TRIGGERED FIRST USE
A majority of the clients (27.0 per cent) identified peer influence as the trigger for their first
substance use. Family issues and stress (25.0 per cent) followed, and emotional trauma
was 23.0 per cent. Figure 6 shows the distribution of triggers by percentage as reported
by clients.
5. NUMBER OF YEARS OF USE
Clients’ years of use ranged from a low of one year to a high of 16 or more years. The
majority of the clients (54 or 32.0 per cent) have been using substances between seven
and nine years. Persons in the 16 and more years category accounted for 8.0 per cent (13)
of the clients. Figure 7 illustrates the number of years of use among clients for all parishes
combined.
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