Blending high-quality and rigorous research with pure evaluation practice can often be best accomplished through thoughtful collaboration. The evaluation of a high school drug prevention program (All Stars Senior) is an example of how perceived competing purposes and methodologies can coexist to investigate formative and summative outcome…

Today, there is a collective national awareness that an unacceptable number of teens are involved in the use of dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine, ecstasy, and heroin, and they have access to high-grade marijuana. Alcohol use, even more pervasive, results in risky sexual behaviors, automobile accidents, and even death. To the dismay of many…

With 10 years of experience leading schools through random drug testing programs, the author, a superintendent, is convinced she's on the right track. At Hunterdon Central Regional High School District in Flemington, New Jersey, a school where she works as a superintendent, the author relates that they have seen a significant and well-documented…

The present study provides an implementation fidelity, process, and immediate outcomes evaluation of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND), a drug prevention program targeting continuation high school youth (n = 1426) at risk for drug abuse. A total of 24 schools participated in three randomized conditions: TND Only, TND and motivational…

Steroids have become one of society's "short cuts" to athletic prowess and success. This guide includes information and teaching materials for educators and others who work with youth on how to teach that steroids are drugs, that drugs can harm and kill, and that a "no-use" policy applies to steroids as well as to alcohol and…

School-based drug abuse prevention studies suffer from intragroup dependence when intact social groups are assigned to study conditions. Data analysis from two studies revealed intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.02 and 0.05 for common drug use measures. Suggests researchers adopt alternative methods that acknowledge dependence. Reviews…

Evaluated Pennsylvania Department of Education-sponsored training of members of core team Student Assistance Programs (SAPs). Compared student response averages from schools that had implemented core teams with those from matched schools without SAPs. Found that students in SAP schools were more likely to talk to friends about risks of smoking.…

Surveyed 212 parent-adolescent pairs to examine their perceptions of adolescent drug use. Compared to adolescents, parents were more likely to list reasons for drug use with negative connotations. Parents underestimated use of alcohol and marijuana and frequency with which teenagers' friends became drunk or high relative to adolescents' estimates.…

Using a question and answer format, this booklet is designed to inform teens about the dangers of marijuana usage. Inset facts about marijuana and teen perspectives compliment the following topics: (1) What is marijuana? (2) How is marijuana used? (3) How long does marijuana stay in the user's body? (4) How many teens smoke marijuana? (5) Why do…

This book is intended for high school and college courses in which personal issues related to addictive problems and substance abuse are a significant focus; the readings and exercises may be of use in teaching such a course as well as helping the student. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to drug and alcohol abuse. It examines recent…

Examined the effects of refining a high school-based, indicated drug prevention program which integrates social support and life-skills training. Process evaluation of the program revealed the need for program enhancements to address underestimated levels of depression, anger, and suicidal behaviors and to ensure that core content was consistently…

This curriculum guide for high-school students presents in-depth coverage of the full range of content related to drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, narcotics, and hallucinogens. It is part of a series designed to provide educators with the curricular tools necessary to challenge students to take personal responsibility for…

This document examines societal influences that promote the continued use of drugs, considering how "mixed messages" are sent to U.S. youth regarding the acceptable use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD). It analyzes public and private sector policies, practices, and regulatory initiatives aimed at reducing and eliminating alcohol and other drug…

Students-Teach-Students is a program that trains teams of high school students to present a smoking education program and role-model to fifth graders, helping them to overcome peer pressure to smoke cigarettes and marijuana. Surveys show that a significant percentage of students first begin to experiment with smoking cigarettes and marijuana…

Research has suggested that didactic and values discussions, life skills training, social skills training, and family intervention can reduce heavy drug use. Because subjects display variability in patterns of behavior change, increased understanding of these individual differences could be beneficial to interventions. A preventive intervention…