Several risk and protective factors are influential in predicting who uses or abstains from illicit substances during the high school years. The 2014 national cohort data from the Monitoring the Future survey shows the demographics, psychosocial factors, and attitudes regarding substance use that predict abstention by twelfth-graders (versus those…

Substance prevention programs proliferate throughout America's Schools. Since 1998, the US Department of Education (US DOE) has required that school-based programs funded with federal subsidies be subject to a four stage process to insure effectiveness. The current study applies multivariate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) techniques to data from a…

Every fall, college and university campuses and communities brace for the onslaught of new and returning students. For first-year students, anecdotal evidence suggests that the first six weeks of enrollment are critical to success. Because many students initiate heavy drinking during these early days of college, the potential exists for excessive…

Few after-school programs target alcohol and other drug (AOD) use because it is difficult to encourage a diverse group of youth to voluntarily attend. The current study describes CHOICE, a voluntary after-school program which targeted AOD use among middle school students. Over 4,000 students across eight schools completed surveys and 15%…

This is a report of a governor's task force established to investigate alcohol abuse by youth and young adults in Maryland. Since the task force was informed that young people use whatever drug is readily available including marijuana and cocaine, substance abuse in general is included in the report. The introduction discusses the task force's…

This research update begins with a review of research on adolescent drug use and its prevention. The research reviewed illustrates the complexity of the problem and of the many variables that may affect outcome. The review suggests that a social influences approach to drug prevention that focuses on preventing the initiation of use by reducing the…

Substance abuse among adolescents is modeled and reinforced by the peer culture. Experimentation with drugs seems to have become a typical part of normal adolescent development. The solution to adolescent substance abuse will only be arrived at through gathering facts and designing intervention programs based on those facts. Since the two most…

Examined the relationship between parent participation in a school-based drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for adolescents and adolescent drug use. Results of an 18-month follow-up survey found that parent participation in the program was negatively associated with adolescent use of alcohol and cigarettes. (MDM)

Intended to aid administrators, school principals, and other program coordinators, this guide was written to improve the effectiveness of family involvement strategies that are necessary for comprehensive school alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use prevention programs. Themes discussed are: (1) reasons for creating many forms of family…

Reviews the effectiveness of prevention programs in reducing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Results reveal that prevention programs, to date, have been successful in raising awareness of FAS; however this awareness has not been translated into behavioral changes in high-risk drinkers as consumption levels in this group have increased. (Author/MKA)

This paper contains the revised drug education guidelines for the state of California, which emphasize prevention of alcohol and drug abuse. The materials define school-based alcohol and drug abuse prevention programming as a comprehensive process that not only provides students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs, but also enhances…

Little is known about preventing alcohol use by youth in rural America, and almost no rural alcohol prevention program has been evaluated. To address these deficiencies, this paper critically examines the issue of alcohol use by rural youth within a public health framework. The literature is reviewed to identify what is known about the prevalence…

Most campus alcohol and other drug (AOD) programs include prevention, intervention, and treatment services designed to address individual students' knowledge of the consequences of alcohol and other drug use, to improve their skills in resisting such behavior, or to address existing problematic use of or addiction to alcohol or other drugs.…

Reviews school-based approaches to prevention of adolescent alcohol use and abuse undertaken in the 1950s through the 1970s and discusses problems associated with such studies, remedies to these problems, and current school-based approaches. Also discusses the Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study, a longitudinal intervention undertaken in the 1980s to…

These materials represent first hand documentations of 25 school-based drug abuse prevention program activities and experiences in the state of California. The programs, based on the premise that effective prevention programs improve a school's atmosphere for learning and growth, are described in terms of their design, implementation, and…