Journal of Drug Education: Substance Use Research and Prevention

The following is a study of drug use, knowledge, and attitudes of drugs among a small sample of Mexican-American students in a large metropolitan area school environment. These students, identified by the school officials as potential dropouts, are characteristic of those usually underrepresented in most high school drug use surveys because of their absenteeism and lack of interest in school activities.

Results of the study suggest that cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol (hard as well as beer or wine) are used by the majority of students. Reported use of other drugs is considerably lower but still high enough to cause concern. The extent of “social drug” and marijuana use by these potential dropouts is higher than that reported in other studies; for instance, reported marijuana usage is about twice as high as reported by most other studies. In addition, among students who use drugs, social drugs and marijuana are being used more than during the preceding year. Boys and girls appear to be characterized by different patterns of drug use and attitudes, including use of LSD and amphetamines more by girls than boys and use of marijuana and alcohol more by boys.

This study is of particular significance for curriculum development in drug education. While describing the nature and extent of drug use among a sampling of high school students, and identifying variables which predict drug use, the study also offers a valuable method of determining the appropriate grade level placement of drug prevention and intervention strategies within the school curricula.

The sample consisted of 455 students attending a comprehensive, multi-ethnic-economic, suburban high school. The data indicated the lowest incidence of drug use was among freshmen, with a 72 per cent increase among sophomores, and only significant change in mode of use and not amount among upperclassmen.

The consequences of alcohol consumption by teenagers in general and Indian youth in particular have long been of concern in the United States. Nevertheless, there have been few empirical studies of problems experienced by adolescents subsequent to drinking, and none which have provided comparative data on drinking related problems of white and Native American youth. The findings presented here are based on a self-report study of high school students in the Wind River Reservation area of Wyoming. With regard to feeling high, getting drunk, being sick, passing out, suffering a brief loss of memory, being stopped by the police, having an automobile accident and getting into trouble with parents, Indian youth of both sexes tend to experience more serious consequences of drinking than do white youth from the same area.

This study was undertaken to investigate the predictive value of social and environmental historical factors as a determinant of the rehabilitative potential of an inmate as measured by his success in completing satisfactorily a Narcotic Antagonist Work-Release Program.

The N.I.D.A. Psycho-Social Inventory¹ taken from forty clients were objectively scored by category. The categories studied were general background (religion, education, etc.), family, work, criminal and drug history. Statistical correlation was sought by category with the subject's objective jail score reflecting success in the jail program. Means of jail scores of extreme groups (fifteen highest and fifteen lowest subjects) were compared with their category scores using the t-test. Only the work factor reached significance at a level of .05. Further analysis of the work factor showed that both of its components (length of employment and proximity to incarceration) were required to achieve significance.

This report presents an evaluation of a specific college drug education course three to eight years later by surveying a large number of its previous educator-participants. Thus the respondents have had ample time to determine the usefulness of the various types of information acquired from the course during their subsequent classroom, counseling or administrative experiences. Over 100 anonymous responses (57%) were obtained from public school educators who from previous enrollment data were shown to have taken the course sometime between 1968—1973. Each year was represented in the survey. The relative value of the different topics in the course syllabus is discussed. General, basic pharmacological information about ALL drugs, licit, illicit, alcohol, OTC, etc., was considered to be more valuable than specific information about current “street” drugs. The respondents wanted none of the present topics deleted, and they suggested adding additional topics, e.g., chemical additives, megavitamins, geriatric pharmacy. Most of the respondents indicated that they consider themselves to be more objective about drugs now than they were previously but that they don't believe their attitudes toward drug abusers have changed in the intervening period.

Little research has been done assessing the cigarette smoking attitudes of lower socioeconomic students. In addition, there is a lack of information with respect to assessing the impact of health education programs on lower socioeconomic groups. The study was conducted in three lower socioeconomic elementary schools in a midwestern and eastern metropolitan area. All students involved in the study completed the attitude inventory. Both a pre-posttest design, and a Solomon Three Group Design were used to assess the cigarette smoking attitudes of lower socioeconomic sixth grade students after exposure to a special health program. The findings revealed that students exposed to the special health program developed more positive attitudes toward not smoking than students receiving their regular health instruction.

As part of an extensive questionnaire on student drug use patterns at a small private college, this study was completed to determine the relationship between self-reported religiosity of college students and 1) the nature and incidence of current drug usage, 2) reasons for abstaining from drug use, 3) acceptable sources for referral in case of drug problems, and 4) persons with whom students would discuss their attitudes toward drugs. Statistically significant differences between religious and non-religious students at the 0.01 level were found in the current use of alcohol and marijuana, in reasons for abstaining from marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates, and hallucinogens; in referral of drug problems to drug wise friends; and in discussing drug attitudes with parents and with college counselors.

The effects of presenting (a) general drug and drug usage information by lecture or mixed mode format and (b) information on the types of programs and facilities available through the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission, on the knowledge and attitudes of 347 technical college students were compared. The results indicated that the presentations had no significant differential effect on the participants' general knowledge of drugs and drug usage nor on their attitudes toward certain aspects of drug usage. However, those individuals who received information about programs and facilities demonstrated significantly (p < .01) greater knowledge in that area than did individuals who did not receive this information. The results were discussed in terms of research on training and attitudes and recommendations were made for future drug information programs.