Purpose: To determine the prevalence of substance use among adolescent psychiatric outpatients using a variety of data sources. Method: Using a questionnaire, 3-month prevalence of substance use data were obtained from 50 adolescents and their health care providers. Adolescents' self-reports and providers' clinical impressions were compared with…

Many schools implement random student drug testing (RSDT) programs as a drug prevention strategy. This study analyzes self-report surveys of students in eight secondary schools with well-established RSDT programs, comparing students who understood they were subject to testing and students who understood they were not subject to testing. Students…

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Drug-Testing Program was created to protect the health and safety of student-athletes and to ensure that no one participant might have an artificially induced advantage or be pressured to use chemical substances. This publication describes this program in the following chapters: (1) NCAA…

This study evaluates 3 drug-testing strategies implemented in 5 different jurisdictions with drug courts in Orange County, California. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the sweat patch acts as a deterrent and under what conditions it can be used to improve outcomes. Results indicated that although the use of the sweat patch did not…

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…

One approach some U.S. schools now use to combat high rates of adolescent substance use is school-based mandatory-random student drug testing (MRSDT). Under MRSDT, students and their parents sign consent forms agreeing to the students' participation in random drug testing as a condition of participating in athletics and other school-sponsored…

The purpose of this case study was to examine random student drug testing in one school district relevant to: (a) the perceptions of students participating in competitive extracurricular activities regarding drug use and abuse; (b) the attitudes and perceptions of parents, school staff, and community members regarding student drug involvement; (c)…

Aim: To assess college students' attributions for abstinence from alcohol and illicit drugs. Method: We recruited 125 undergraduates to rate the degree to which each of 41 listed reasons influenced their abstention from six specific substances (alcohol, MDMA/ecstasy, inhalants, cocaine, marijuana, and hallucinogens). Findings: Internal consistency…

This study examines whether the Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification ("SATURN") program affects illicit drug and alcohol use among student athletes. The study experienced high rates of sample attrition. Seven of the 18 study schools (39%) left the study and were not included in the analysis. Some students at the remaining…

To help assess the effects of school-based random drug testing programs, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) contracted with RMC Research Corporation and Mathematica Policy Research to conduct an experimental evaluation of the Mandatory-Random Student Drug Testing (MRSDT) programs in 36 high schools within…

The objectives of this paper are two-fold: to examine first, if the change from positive to negative alcohol and any other substance use status from baseline assessment to the onset of the first session (i.e., pre-treatment phase) occurs in adolescents, that is, Assessment Reactivity (AR); second, whether AR predicts treatment outcome.…

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…

The Vernonia School District v. Acton Supreme Court decision in 1995, forever changed the landscape of the legality of drug testing in schools. This decision stated that students who were involved in athletic programs could be drug tested as long as the student's privacy was not invaded. According to some in the medical profession, there are two…

Offers a partial listing of citations in the ERIC database on the history of drug use in the United States. Includes items concerning regional needs assessment, alcoholic students, and drug abuse. Suggests articles on efforts and legislation toward drug control, the status of drug education, and the controversies of drug testing. (DK)