Life's a Gas? The Training Needs of Practitioners and Carers Working with Young People Misusing Volatile Substances

Abstract

Volatile substance abuse (the deliberate inhalation of substances such as gas fuels, glues, aerosols or other solvent-based products) by young people does not attract high level attention within the broader arena of drugs education and prevention programmes. Given the prevalence of volatile substances in the lives of vulnerable groups of young people, however, and the risks associated with their misuse, social work education and training might justifiably give a higher profile to the associated needs of young people in need and/or in public care. This paper reports on the findings from a study in England of the training needs of social workers, residential and foster carers in relation to volatile substance abuse by young people, and identifies the implications for further development of training materials and resources.