The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) and the Psychoactive Substances Act (2016) both reinforce the criminalisation of drug use in the UK. The Psychoactive Substances Act (2016) has been developed to control and monitor the use of legal highs, particularly in institutions. This study aimed to establish drug service providers' viewpoints on how effective…

Social support and psychiatric severity are known to influence substance abuse. However, little is known about how their influences vary under different conditions. We aimed to study how different types of social support were associated with substance abuse outcomes among persons with low and moderate psychiatric severity who entered Sober Living…

This study sought to develop a short version of the ADSI, and investigate its psychometric properties. Methods: This is a secondary analysis. Analysis to determine the Cronbach's Alpha, correlations to determine concurrent criterion validity and known instrument validity and a logistic regression to determine predictive validity were conducted.…

Females who had vaginal sex were interviewed annually in their first two years of college (n=386, ages 17 to 20 at study outset) and asked about risky sex behaviors and substance use. In year one, 60.2%[subscript wt] had intoxicated sex, 31.4%[subscript wt] had multiple sex partners, and 48.9%[subscript wt] had unprotected sex (i.e., without a…

Objectives: This study evaluated substance use and HIV risk profile using a latent model analysis based on ecological theory, inclusive of a risk and protective factor framework, in sexually active minority adults (N=1,056) who participated in a federally funded substance abuse and HIV prevention health initiative from 2002 to 2006. Methods: Data…

Conducted survey to identify characteristics associated with chemical dependency among chemically dependent nurse anesthetists. Subjects were 21 nurse anesthetists who had been chemically dependent, had completed some form of drug treatment, and had been chemically free for at least one year. Investigated areas of employment setting, educational…

Administered a two-year prevention program to 121 boys and girls, ages 11-12 years. Results showed partial impact of the program on proximal measures, such as self-esteem, influenceability, and knowledge of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Problem children in the prevention program became more assertive. Discusses limits of child-centered…

Compared substance use perceptions and behavior using a sample of 3,009 African American youth. Overall, substance abuse is perceived as a serious problem at school. Early substance use and peer influence are major determinants of later substance use, although important differences exist in the prediction of alcohol and marijuana use. (RJM)

Reports results of comparing two screening instruments designed to identify youth with substance use problems. For one out of five youths, the two instruments gave different diagnoses. The instruments do not predict adolescent problems or substance use over time substantially better than a simpler measure of the frequency of substance use. (LKS)

Investigated relationship between perceived physical attractiveness and frequency of substance use among 1,297 adolescents. Female adolescents who rated themselves as unattractive were more likely to use illicit psychoactive substances than those who rated themselves as average or attractive. Perceived attractiveness did not contribute to…

This article reports on a survey of 115 schools of education and training for health professionals, inquiring into the recognition of substance abuse and substance abuse in pregnancy as a curriculum concern. Although most schools reported that substance abuse falls within their curricula, some respondents requested continuing education on the…

Analyzes the results of a survey given 5th- through 12th-grade students in a small city school district. Respondents evaluated their schools' substance abuse prevention programs and also gave their views on the adequacy and fairness of school and legal punishments for common drug and alcohol offenses. (RJM)

In this correlated study, researchers tested the hypothesis that adolescents who occasionally used drugs would exhibit psychologically healthier characteristics than adolescents who had been frequent users or complete abstainers. Results indicated a linear relationship between substance use and psychological health--increased drug use accompanied…

Researchers examined the extent of drug and alcohol use among 255 4-H youth. When results were compared to local school surveys, no statistically significant differences emerged between 4-H members' drug and alcohol use and student use. Seventy percent of 4-H members indicated that 4-H had influenced their attitudes about substance use. (RJM)

Attempted to discover patterns of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use among public school children in New Brunswick using Provincial School Drug Survey (PSDS), an existing large-scale assessment. Recoded variables in PSDS dataset to derive profiles of typical tobacco, cannabis, and alcohol users. Found increase in predictive accuracy of regression…