The Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia has identified attracting and recruiting staff as a problem area for the sector. An obvious strategy is to recruit people from a broad range of backgrounds, and then provide specific industry training. The vocational education and training (VET) sector is well placed to provide this training. The…

The comprehensive reports released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA's) Task Force on College Drinking turned a national spotlight on the problem of harmful drinking among college students. The central report, "A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges," has proven influential in the…

Social norms-based interventions targeting college student drinking behaviors have become increasingly popular. Such interventions purportedly modify student misperceptions of fellow student drinking behaviors, which leads to changes in individual drinking behavior. Despite claims of successful interventions, research demonstrating that social…

The B.R.A.D. Birthday Card initiative was started on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU) in April 1999. MSU administrators send the safe-drinking 21st birthday card (B.R.A.D.) and laminated wallet card to students shortly before their 21st birthday. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 21st birthday card, MSU and B.R.A.D.,…

This selected unannotated bibliography of material on alcoholism is divided into sections on bibliographies, books, courses of study and guidelines to classroom practices, gimmicks, packets of material, and pamphlets and leaflets. Also included are the sources of posters and addresses of resources. The materials listed are current and inexpensive…

Adolescents need the opportunity learn and think about their use of alcohol just as desperately as they needed information about drugs. Unfortunately, most people, adolescent and adult, equate teaching about drinking with moralizing. (Authors)

Resource unit outlines for classroom teachers on alcohol education for Grades 7 through 12. (JA)

Statements on the use of alcohol and marijuana are presented by the Committee on Drugs of the American School Health Association. It is recommended that these topics should be openly and freely discussed in the classroom and be included in the regular health curriculum, kindergarten through twelfth year. (Author/BY)

Opinions of secondary school students are presented regarding the risks of youthful intoxication. Findings suggest that, while respondents were aware that getting drunk or high at their age entails risks, these dangers appear worth taking. (Author/GK)

Presents a case report illustrating the viability of a surrogate measure to cross-validate self-reports of alcohol consumption by members of a fraternity. Postulates that when used with more orthodox survey or interview techniques, surrogate measures can enhance a study's credibility. Predicts that drug abuse research will play a role in future…

Prospectively evaluated identification of alcohol abusers by family practice residents in 278 family medicine inpatients. Overall, residents correctly identified 38.8 percent of current or past alcohol abusers and 94.8 percent of nonalcoholics. Correct diagnosis was unrelated to demographic factors, alcohol-related admission diagnosis, or years of…

Notes two generations of strategic thought in history of drug education. Focuses on third-generation drug education as response to failure of first two generations. Sees third generation examining existing attitudes and motivations of target audience to make direct assessment of needs. Describes evaluation of third-generation alcohol education…

Surveyed the seven Roman Catholic dioceses of Florida to examine level of awareness of alcoholism and need for treatment as indicated by existence of programs for education, intervention, and treatment. Four dioceses had some strategy in place, two others saw such a need, and one said consciousness of need was gradually emerging. (Author/NB)