This investigation was designed to examine prescription drug-related content and learning objectives in Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) for upper elementary and middle schools. Specific prescription-drug topics and context associated with content and objectives were coded. The coding system for topics included 126 topics organized…

The present study was designed to examine the effectiveness of Fatal Vision Goggles in reducing intentions to drink and drive. Participants performed a field sobriety task and drove in a traffic simulator while wearing the goggles. A regression analysis was performed in order to predict changes in intentions to drink and drive, using typical…

This article describes a meta-analysis of the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality and smoking. The results, based on nine studies and a total of 4,730 participants, show that smoking was associated with the following five-factor traits: low conscientiousness, low agreeableness, and high neuroticism. Smokers outside Canada and…

This study identified the preliminary curriculum components for the preparation of graduate-level addiction counselors. A review of the related literature revealed no agreed upon standards for post baccalaureate instruction of addiction counseling. The Delphi method was used to establish curriculum items from a list of 198 previously identified…

Qualitative studies of alcohol's ritual influences indicate that college undergraduates who drink heavily tend to view alcohol use as integral to the student role and feel entitled to drink irresponsibly. Our analyses, based on a standardized measure of these beliefs administered to approximately 300 students, confirmed these findings. Among our…

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief intervention that has been shown to reduce heavy drinking among college students. Because all college studies of MI to date have included a personalized feedback report, it remains unclear which of the components is necessary to produce behavior change. This study evaluated the separate and collective…

Studies investigating smoking behavior among adolescents living in post-communistic Central-European countries are sparse. This study focused on the relationship between cigarette smoking, certain friendship factors, and social norm perceptions among 1,886 Central-Eastern European adolescents from high schools in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic,…

Adolescents with high sensation-seeking tendencies often seek out thrill seeking experiences to satisfy their need for stimulation and sensation. In many cases, sensation-seeking adolescents fulfill their need for stimulation and sensation by using illicit substances. However, not all high sensation seekers use drugs, although the factors that…

The current study tested the effectiveness of using National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD) to deliver personalized feedback via mail. At-risk NASD participants were assigned to either personalized or generic feedback conditions and attended a 4-week follow-up. Results failed to find any group differences on alcohol-related variables. However,…

Understanding the attitudes of restaurant and bar owners and managers toward a smokefree city ordinance can contribute greatly to the success of a smokefree policy campaign. While local opposition to a smokefree policy always arises from restaurant and bar owners, this study of restaurant and bar owners and managers in two Midwestern cities…

Crystal methamphetamine (aka "crystal meth") use with high-risk sex has become an emerging health problem for gay and bisexual men in New York City since the late 1990s. Public health campaigns were eventually developed to encourage gay and bisexual men to avoid or reconsider using crystal meth. Reactions to three campaigns were measured with a…

There is now ample evidence that teachers tend to make substantial modifications to both the prescribed content and methods of the curricula they administer, and that such modifications are likely to attenuate curricula effects. We examine the fidelity with which teachers implement "Protecting You, Protecting Me," an underage alcohol use…

Research has shown significant declines in gateway drug use among participants in a school/community substance abuse prevention intervention in a midwestern, suburban school district (Lohrmann, Alter, Greene, & Younoszai, 2005). Though still at or below national levels, student marijuana use was not impacted as positively. The current study…

The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure of incidental behaviors that put college students at increased risk of legal consequences while using alcohol, the Legal Risk Behaviors while using Alcohol (LRBA) scale. Two hundred and twenty one college students who used alcohol were recruited to complete an online study about their use of…

Reported rates of recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men are currently rising. Although there has been much empirical research documenting current trends in drug use among gay and bisexual men, little research has empirically contrasted differential rates across urban epicenters, while even less has addressed racial or ethnic variation…