The prevalence of marijuana use and perceptions of the prevalence of marijuana use was assessed in a sample of intercollegiate athletes and a separate sample of primarily first-year non-athlete students at a northwestern public university. Marijuana use prevalence in the non-athlete sample was higher than the prevalence found in nationwide surveys…

Describes research involving adolescent marijuana abusers. Using Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised found characteristics consistent with pattern produced by cerebral dysfunction including reduced memory indices in relation to intellectual function and attentional ability. Intelligence was found to be in…

The association of and difference between urinalysis, self and parent collateral-report of alcohol and substance use at baseline, 3 and 9-month follow-up was assessed for 88 male and female adolescents from a treatment study. While urinalyses rates were higher than self and collateral-report, urinalyses and self-report did not differ significantly…

Frequent substance use has a strong association with poor mental health. The relationship between infrequent substance use and mental health is less clear. The present study investigated this relationship in a large group (n = 2118) of 12-19-year-olds from Alberta, Canada. Results indicated that adolescents who used tobacco or alcohol once a month…

Reports marijuana users gave significantly higher estimates of percentage of students who use marijuana. States that there is a greater risk of using marijuana among students who held the perception that it was used by more than half the students on campus. Prevention programs need to consider that marijuana users are at risk for engagement in…

Examines family-based variables as predictors of adolescent substance use. Overall, this study supported prior research, indicating certain family variables as predictors of adolescent substance use. Sibling marijuana use, family involvement, and religious affiliation were predictors of adolescent tobacco use. Family involvement, sibling tobacco…

Research indicates that parenting has important effects on adolescent substance use. However, the indirect effect of parenting on adolescent substance use via self-control is less understood. Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime has been extensively tested by researchers in the field of criminology, but the theory rarely has been used…

Anonymous surveys have been widely used worldwide to describe adolescent substance use yet cannot elucidate causal drug abuse predictors. Studies in the U.S. have generally found that anonymous and confidential surveys yield comparable levels of self-reported substance use, yet the effect of survey format on youth self-report has not been…

Surveys adolescents (N=1,621) attending southern, metropolitan secondary schools to determine how much overlap there is in individuals who smoke, get drunk, use marijuana, and have sexual intercourse; and determine if overlap is according to age, gender, race, and family structure. Reports there are relationships between activities, although most…

The high rates of substance use among American adolescents are challenging; however, runaway youth are at particularly high-risk for substance use. Runaway youth utilizing two service sectors, emergency crisis shelters and juvenile detention centers, were recruited to evaluate differences in risk factors associated with substance use. Findings…

A study comparing four models of substance misuse were performed. Alcohol drinking, tobacco use, sniffing of a dissolvent and cannabis use were proposed to depend on one, two, three, or four latent factors. In confirmatory factor analyses the fit of the models were tested against empirical data from a group of adolescent school pupils. The result…

Examines relationships among adolescent drug use and family relationships, aspirations, school involvement, and delinquent behaviors. Analysis of 475 juvenile probationers yielded profiles of marijuana and alcohol use that were influenced by friends' alcohol or marijuana use, selling drugs, and other factors. Recommendations for intervention,…

A comparison of personality factors on scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) was conducted with a sample of adolescents referred to a residential substance abuse treatment program. A total of sixty adolescents identified with hallucinogen (n = 20), cannabis (n = 20), or methamphetamine (n = 20) as their drug…

Examined African American and Hispanic seventh graders (N=1,815) to study ethnic identity's moderating effect on psychosocial risk and drug use. Results based on cross-sectional analyses and longitudinal analyses indicate that low levels of ethnic identity were associated with both low risk and low use. Other results are reported. (RJM)

Analyzes screening data on arrested youths (n=361) at the Hillsborough County, Florida Juvenile Assessment Center in November 1993. Results provide support for the effectiveness of the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument in differentiating among youths released to the community unsupervised, youths placed on home detention, and youths placed in…