Objectives: This study examined the prevalence, patterns, and knowledge of Energy Drink (ED) consumption among undergraduate students. Participants: Participants included students (n = 373) attending a medium-sized rural university in Texas. Methods: Students were surveyed anonymously using convenience sampling and a cross-sectional design with 15…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the uncharted territory of disciplinary actions taken against educators for their misconducts. The study examines demographics of the educators who have committed various types of offenses to find out whether results are different than the findings in the criminal justice literature. Methods: The…

Background: Whereas dating violence among high school students has been linked with sexual risk-taking and substance use, this association has been understudied among early adolescents. We estimated the prevalence of physical and nonphysical dating violence in a sample of middle school students and examined associations between dating violence,…

Objective: To examine differences between light and heavier smoking vocational/technical students in tobacco use, related behaviors, and cessation. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting and Methods: Two hundred and four smokers attending two vocational/technical colleges in east Texas, USA, completed an anonymous survey during a regularly scheduled…

Drawing on theories of symbolic interaction, some researchers have suggested that negative reflected appraisal imposes a "delinquent" identity on adolescents whom adults and peers perceive as delinquent, creating ego identity discomfort that these adolescents seek to mitigate through association with drug-using peers for whom the…

The transition from high school to college is an important developmental milestone that holds the potential for personal growth and behavioral change. A cohort of 2,245 students was recruited during the summer before they matriculated into college and completed Internet-based surveys about their participation in a variety of behavioral risks…

This project is part of a multi-year program to gather detailed information about substance-use patterns among Texans. Investigators interviewed a total of 946 youths, age 10 to 17, as they entered Texas Youth Commission (TYC) reception facilities. Results show that 81% of TYC youth have used illicit substances--51% in their last month on the…

Context: Little is known about substance use and treatment utilization in rural communities of the United States/Mexico border. Purpose: To compare substance use and need and desire for treatment in rural colonias and urban areas of the border. Methods: Interviews were conducted in 2002-2003 with a random sample of adults living in the lower Rio…

Prescription drug overdose mortality is documented and its economic consequences estimated for Texas in 1978. Drug-related deaths (N=117 out of 397) were due to the use of barbiturates, tranquilizers, and anti-depressants; 85 to mixing drugs. The economic cost of mortality exceeded $43 million, 32 percent of prescription drug overdose. (Author)

This study describes the prevalence of alcohol and drug use, abuse, and dependence among adults on the Texas-Mexico border in 2002-2003. The findings are based on survey responses from a random sample of 1,200 adults living in households in three communities: El Paso, a densely populated city in west Texas; the less dense urbanized areas of the…

This article discerns the role that Mexican American gang members play in drug markets, and the relationship between gang members' drug use and drug selling in South Texas. A four-part typology based on the two dimensions of gang type and gang member emerged from this qualitative analysis of 160 male gang members: Homeboys, Hustlers, Slangers, and…

An abundance of surveys and news reports have clearly indicated that sexual assaults and other violent crimes are prevalent on U.S. college and university campuses. What isn't as well known is how little is being done by most institutions to try and reduce this fact. Poor awareness of the reality of crime rates, combined with widespread policies…

This report provides an update of the costs of alcohol and drug abuse for 1997. The 1997 costs were estimated by multiplying the percent changes in various socioeconomic factors from 1989 to 1997 by the cost estimates. The adverse health and social consequences of substance abuse extensively increased costs to the state. The total economic costs…

Objective: The current study examined the prevalence and characteristics of childhood sexual abuse in a jailed-based population. Methodology: A retrospective, self-reported survey was administered over an 8-week period to a random sample of 100 men who were incarcerated in a county jail in Southeastern Texas. The survey included questions about…

Evaluates the effectiveness of one-year participation in a program of volunteer-facilitated peer support groups conducted in a southwest Texas high school. Results of program evaluation by participants (N=118) indicate that the program was highly accepted even though two-thirds of the students had initially felt uncomfortable in the group.…