The main purpose of this study was to highlight young people with alcohol and drug problems and their experiences of social and pedagogical exclusion. The data collected consist of interviews, in turn obtained from Ungdok. Ungdok is a documentation system used by the Social Services. It aims at documenting young people’s own accounts of their alcohol and drug use and how it affects different aspects of their lives. The study’s focus was on how young people with a variety of substance use describe their experiences of exclusion in school settings. Initially the results were analyzed with the help of concepts that are used to identify various aspects of school difficulties, the significance of them, and what the consequences might be for the youngsters. The analysis also focuses on the elements of exclusion that the youngsters ascribe to the school setting, as well as peer relations, and their own family ties.

A large part of the interviewees, roughly 1/3 of  2169 young people with alcohol and drug problems, state that they have no school related problems, which perhaps could be attributed to a more normalized use of so-called party drugs, and/or cannabis. 2/3 of the interviewees however, state that they have experienced, or are experiencing school related problems. A lot of the young people whose accounts were used in this study state that their drug use was most prevalent in transition periods, even though alcohol use generally increase when adolescents reach adulthood. A finding of this study is that about half of the young people interviewed consider themselves unwanted or as failures. Another finding is that approximately 1/5 of the youngsters’ accounts of school related difficulties relate to ADHD or other neuropsychiatric difficulties or diagnoses. Physical illness is in a few cases also given as a reason for school related difficulties. Other problematic areas described by the young people relate to difficulties with concentration, and those are often described in terms of comorbidities or that the individual devalues him or herself.

The results of the study show that school related social exclusion appear on both a structural, interpersonal, as well as an individual level. Two distinct approaches also become apparent in the results. The first approach emphasizes that exclusion is the result of the school’s, or the educational institution’s failure to fully embrace inclusive practices. The second approach visible in the results takes a more individualistic view on exclusion, often resulting in the young person putting blame on him or herself for being the very reason they’re experiencing social, and/or pedagogical exclusion.

The study’s results raise questions as to what extent an individual child/young person can be expected to take responsibility for the parental level of education and the potential disadvantage this brings the young person. Other questions of interest that may be raised in relation to the results of this study is to what extent a child or young person can be expected to take responsibility for the potentially negative consequences of an unequal and/or segregated school system. Is it the education system, the school, or the pupils that ought to take the responsibility and action to guarantee the educational support that all pupils have the right to?

This study has contributed to the body of knowledge by providing knowledge of how young people with alcohol and drug problems describe their own experiences of school related difficulties, and to what extent these experiences in various degrees have contributed to a sense of social and pedagogical exclusion in school settings.