Evaluates a 10-week drug education and prevention program (DEPP) as a means to increase information about the efficacy of such efforts in deterring college athlete drug abuse. Data obtained from 635 student athletes shows improvements in knowledge, attitudes toward performance-enhancing and recreational drugs, and perceptions of drug education…

Using a stratified random sampling procedure, 754 student athletes were surveyed regarding drug and alcohol use in eight different sports from eight universities across Canada. Provides statistics of substances athletes reported using, including pain medications, weight loss products, anabolic steroids, smokeless tobacco products, alcohol,…

Presents the evaluation of written paragraphs which described 21 drug abuse prevention "themes" contained in 35 separate activities. Results indicate significant differences in youth preferences among activities, with a marked preference for the alternative and novel activity presentations. Females, Latinos, older students, and…

Examined drug abuse views and knowledge level of 135 Nigerian secondary school teachers through self-report questionnaire. Found that majority of teachers were never exposed to drug education as students whereas less than 20 percent have been exposed since qualifying as teachers. Provides suggestions on pattern and content of teacher-targeted drug…

Identified teacher characteristics and competencies perceived beneficial for preventing substance use among students. Integrated qualities into questionnaire and administered to 65 individuals with expertise in substance use prevention/intervention field. Found Teacher-Student Relations was most important aspect of teacher comportment, followed by…

Evaluated effectiveness of provincewide chemical abuse prevention education program for elementary grades with 2,092 students and 500 teachers. Found students had high initial knowledge level, certain students showed significant knowledge gains, program was most effective with low knowledge base students, program was in use in 20 percent to 30…

Reports the level of participation of parents in a parent-targeted school-based drug prevention program, and the differences between students whose parents participated and those who didn't. Results indicate that parent-targeted drug prevention programs may stigmatize attending parents and may be unlikely to attract the highest risk families. (JPS)

In this study both college students and degreed nurses were asked to estimate the abuse potential and lethality of recreational drugs, both licit and illicit. Findings indicate that the illicit drugs under consideration were perceived as presenting the greatest danger to the user. Dangers attributed to the use of licit recreational drugs were…

Evaluates the Drug Prevention in Youth risk reduction program that was implemented in shelters for runaway/homeless youths in the southeastern United States. An evaluation strategy was developed allowing for comparisons between peer-led, adult-led and nonintervention groups. Well-trained and motivated peer/near-peer leaders made particularly…

Harm reduction, a new model in the field of drug education, recognizes that people have always and always will use drugs. The new strategy attempts to minimize the potential hazards associated with drug use rather than the use itself. The rationale is presented as well as an example of needs assessment. (Author/JPS)

Investigates the extent to which at-risk adolescents express different values than their parents and adolescents and parents in a control group. The beliefs of parents of at-risk adolescents were not significantly different from those of the control group; however, the at-risk students' beliefs were different from all groups. The age difference…

Examines the relationship between contextual variables and situational expectation of drug use at the school level. Results indicate that the more prosperous the school and the greater the students' perceptions of academic expectations, the lower the situational expectation of smoking cigarettes or taking depressants. However, the higher the…

Previous studies of the drug-use patterns of institutionalized youth found that they followed the standard progression of drug use from marijuana to hard drugs. Utilizing a probabilistic assessment of models, this study supports a modified gateway sequences in which cocaine use appears as an intermediate step between marijuana use and use of other…

Evaluates the reading abilities of 122 male and 59 female drug users as assessed through the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised and the short form of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised. Men and Blacks reported the highest level of education completed, but the tests revealed no differences across gender and ethnicity…

Surveyed 141 substance abusers who had 11 or more months of continuous abstinence and who first sought treatment in adolescence. Getting high for the first time at a younger age and polydrug use were significantly correlated with more relapses and less overall sobriety. There were five times more adoptees represented in the sample than would be…