Asian teenagers living with Canadian families as foreign exchange students are twice as likely to use cocaine, compared to other Canadians -- and nearly 25 percent of the girls in the study reported being sexually abused, according to research from the University of British Colombia.
The study of 3000 Asian exchange students in grades 7 to 12 found that they were more likely to binge drink, smoke, skip school, and be sexually active compared to immigrants or Canadian-born Asians.
Dr. Sabrina Wong initiated the study after becoming a host for a foreign student, and finding out that the application process was largely unregulated.
"There are no policies, there is no regulation, there are no standards, and there is no reporting," she said "Home-stay students are a forgotten group. At this point, they remained extremely vulnerable, because no one is responsible for the health or well being of them as a person."
Dr. Wong noted that most exchange students have good experiences. There were 18,200 foreign high school students in Canada in 2008.
Labels: students, drug_use, sexual abuse
Posted By: Aspen Education Group