This group-randomized trial assessed the effects of a universal prevention training curriculum for school administrators and teachers that focused on effective strategies to prevent adolescent substance use and related problems. Twenty-eight schools in three regions of Peru were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control condition (14…

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.…

Only 7.6% of adolescents in need of substance abuse treatment actually receive it. Many adolescents are hesitant to seek treatment due to public stigma (i.e., negative attitudes and beliefs of the general public toward individuals who abuse substances). However, decades of research indicate that interpersonal contact with stigmatized groups helps…

Adolescent substance use is a serious problem often invoking negative reactions. The current study extends the literature in this area. A total of 425 college students read one of five vignettes, each of which described an adolescent who used marijuana, hard liquor, or drank an occasional beer (control) and who had received or not received…

Background: Tobacco use leads to more deaths each year than any other single factor. This research examined teenagers' perceptions of anti-tobacco messages to determine which campaigns and educational approaches were most effective in preventing tobacco use among youth. Methods: Students from five rural high schools in western Pennsylvania were…

In this article we examine the importance of sensation seeking and pragmatism in the steroids and sports supplements behavior and attitudes of high school and junior high school students on Long Island, New York. Steroid use is much less acceptable than sports supplement use, although the reasons for use are similar. Respondents use supplements…

As part of an international public health partnership formed in 2001 we assessed the impact of Project Northland in Croatia --an adolescent alcohol school-based prevention intervention implemented in Split--on students. The curriculum was implemented in 13 randomly selected schools with another 13 schools serving as controls. The evaluation…

Research shows that social norms interventions, which aim to educate individuals and groups on their actual attitudinal and behavioural norms relating to alcohol, cigarette and drug use,incur some success in reducing positive attitudes to substance use and rates of substance use. The research aimed to investigate the extent of misperceptions…

The current research examined students' perceptions of random drug testing for students participating in after-school activities. Results found students were more likely to endorse drug testing at their school if they are already engaged in after-school activities and not currently using drugs and/or alcohol. While middle and high school students'…

This study explored an understudied promotive factor, a belief that alcohol use is inconsistent with personal autonomy, which may reduce adolescent intention to drink and subsequent alcohol use. Autonomy was examined as an attitudinal construct within the Theory of Reasoned Action. Longitudinal data from 2,493 seventh grade students nested in 40…

Drug use among disaffected students was studied in three different high schools--public urban, public suburban and private residential. Results showed disaffected urbans and suburbans were greater drug users than their respective matched controls. No differences were found between groups in the residential school. (Author)

This study examines the relationship between two independent variables, the fear appeal of the message and the character of the communicator; and the attitudes, behavior and information retention of seventh and eighth grade pupils with respect to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. A number of significant findings are reported. (Author)

Examined effects of mixed affective-cognitive drug education program on rural northern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin sixth and seventh graders' (N=265) substance use health beliefs and behaviors. Alcohol use in this population was determined to be much higher than national average for similar age groups while marijuana, cigarette, and…

Surveyed 2,926 seventh, ninth, and eleventh graders on smokeless tobacco and other substance use. Examined patterns smokeless tobacco use relative to other drug use, particularly cigarette smoking. Data supported view that recent increases in smokeless tobacco use were related to male tobacco users' belief that smokeless tobacco was less harmful…

Surveyed 596 fifth through seventh graders regarding their cigarette and alcohol behaviors, attitudes, knowledge. Approximately one third of the students were experimental users of these substances. Pro-smoking and pro-drinking attitudes were directly related to use. Knowledge about smoking and drinking were inversely related to use. (JAC)