Background: The goals of laboratory experiences include developing knowledge base, research skills, and scientific communication abilities. Objective: The aim was to assess an inquiry-based laboratory activity using the model organism "Caenorhabditis elegans" in relation to learning goals. Method: Students in a "Biopsychology"…

Recent evidence demonstrated that dopamine within the nucleus accumbens mediates consolidation of both associative and nonassociative memories. However, the specific contribution of the nucleus accumbens subregions, core and shell, and of D1 and D2 receptors subtypes has not been yet clarified. The aim of this study was, therefore, to directly…

Compares an adolescent and a parental group with regard to standardized measures of alcohol consumption in order to test the hypothesis that drinking patterns are not unique to the adolescent society but rather exemplify the models in the adult community. Independent samples of students and adults were found to be very similar in patterns of…

Many adolescents experiment with marijuana; the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 46% of high school seniors have tried this drug at some time. Pushing boundaries is what young people do, and some researchers believe that trying marijuana is a normal part of growing up. RAND Corporation researchers have revisited Shedler and Block's…

Periodically, Maryland's sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders are surveyed to determine the nature, extent, and trend of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use among adolescents. The "2007 Maryland Adolescent Survey (MAS)" presents the latest findings regarding ATOD use by Maryland's adolescents and compares State and local…

This study identified differences and similarities among the perceptions of adult and adolescent community members regarding drug use patterns and practices. A written questionnaire was administered to 5,128 adolescents from grades 7 through 12 in the rural inland northwest, and a similar questionnaire was administered to over 900 adults in the…

Kruglanski's endogenous-exogenous partition, when applied to reasons given by smokers for smoking cigarettes, distinguishes two types of actions: (1) endogenous reasons implying that the behavior of consuming the cigarette is the goal of the action and the actor is positive toward the behavior, and (2) exogenous reasons implying that the behavior…

The attributes of adolescents involved in marihuana and nonmarihuana-using peer groups are described. Adolescent subcultures are highly differentiated and involvement with peers does not necessarily entail rejection and estrangement from parents. (Author/AM)

Found early permission to date related to: feelings of being confident, independent, and tired; good relationship with mother; reported drinking and drug abuse problems; and frequent drug use. Found late permission related to feelings of being unsure, dependent, and refreshed; poor relationship with mother; maternal overstrictness; and serious…

Research has shown that drug use tends to increase during the college years, implying that college students have a more favorable view of drug use than high school students. To compare the attitudes of high school (N=367) and college students (N=260) toward nine recreationally used drugs, a semantic differential technique was used. Statistically…

Jones and Hartmann (1988) investigated the relation between identity status and experimental substance use among adolescents in junior and senior high schools, identifying differences in substance use across four identity statuses for adolescents in general. This study was conducted to examine the generalizability of these differences across…

The current prevalence of drug use among American high school seniors (classes of 1975 through 1978) was investigated through a program entitled "Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of the Lifestyles and Values of Youth," conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and funded by the National Institute on Drug…

Alcohol and drug use among high school and college students was investigated in a sample of suburban high school (N=1,274) and college (N=468) students. Alcohol consumption was very high (78%), with more than half of those using alcohol doing so on at least a weekly basis. While alcohol use was pronounced, 96% of those surveyed reported that…