This paper describes the development and impact of an underage drinking reduction program designed and implemented by a South Carolina county sheriff's office with assistance from the county coalition. In December 2017, high school surveys identified family and friends as the alcohol source 82.2% of the time. In Summer 2018, sheriff deputies began…

Because studies examining youth drug use often have data with a high proportion of zeros, they often do not meet the assumptions for univariate or linear regression analyses that are typically used. We demonstrate the use of zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to address excessive zeros in drug use frequency on perceptions of…

Research has indicated that early sexual intercourse in high school is associated with poor health outcomes such as unintentional pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). What is lacking in the research is an understanding of the relationship between even earlier sexual initiation (i.e., before the age of 13) and alcohol, tobacco, and…

Research findings are inconsistent regarding a positive association between the passage of state medical marijuana laws (MML) and the adolescent access and the use of marijuana. We utilized a novel analytical approach to examine this issue with multiyear data from the 1997-2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System of the State of Michigan.…

The present study tested whether playing football or lacrosse in high school is associated with more problematic alcohol use during college compared with playing other sports in high school. A sample of undergraduate males (n = 2,940) in their freshmen year who had played sports in high school completed a web-based questionnaire. Results showed…

The Community Readiness Model (CRM) developed and validated by the Tri-Ethnic Center was adapted to identify at-risk communities in six rural Texas counties. Five to six key informants per county were recruited from a variety of community sectors to participate in phone interviews. Paired scorers independently analyzed individual interview…

Research has found that adolescents who report being gay, lesbian, or bisexual (i.e., sexual minorities) are at higher risks for using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD). Although there are numerous studies that have identified health disparities among sexual minority youth as a whole, few have assessed whether teens who report bisexuality…