Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly stigmatized health conditions, exhibiting significant disparities in prevalence at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities (Eisenberg et al., 2022; Jones et al., 2021; Wakeman & Rich, 2018). This pervasive stigmatization represents a profound social injustice and public health crisis,…

Substance abuse continues to be a growing concern in America with more efforts to improve the overall quality of treatment for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). A history of trauma experiences significantly increased the likelihood of an individual turning to substances to cope. However, psychological abuse remains understudied with its relation to…

Healthcare professionals and individuals underutilize substance use screenings, driving exploration of innovative approaches like virtual agent-guided screening. This study assessed the virtual counselor app's equivalence to in-person evaluation for substance use screening. Participants also completed a user experience questionnaire and a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the most important and feasible factors required for reform and successful inclusion of substance use prevention curriculum into aging-infused certificate and degree programs at 4-year universities. Methodology: This study employed a Delphi technique through three iterative rounds to gather data…

Substance use in America remains a public health crisis, especially given the ongoing opioid epidemic and an alarming spike in overdose related deaths. Institutions of higher education have a unique opportunity to provide realistic measures of sustained substance use disorder (SUD) recovery through collegiate recovery programs (CRP) that employ…

Adolescent substance abuse can lead to detrimental long-term outcomes; thus, many schools have implemented programs to reduce both the incidence and prevalence of these issues. The "Botvin LifeSkills Training" (LST) program has demonstrated promising results in randomized controlled trials, but program results outside randomized trials…

The central phenomenon researched in this case study was higher education administrators' decisions to institutionalize a safe ride program at a small, rural college. The purpose of this single/within-site case study was to describe the changes that happened at a rural public institution of higher education and the surrounding community in the…

Alternative education students face many interacting challenges that put them at significant risk of dropping out of school (Carver & Lewis, 2010), as well as deleterious health and psychological outcomes, and intergenerational cycles of sociopolitical disadvantage (Laird, Kienzel, Debell & Chapman, 2007). Despite the persistent national…

Since the 1960s long-term studies have documented nation-wide patterns of adolescent smoking, drinking and illicit drug use. The federal government responded by passing the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, which funded school-based prevention programs. The problem for school counselors in a Georgia Public School District was…

This descriptive qualitative study explored the lived perceptions and views of middle school teachers, school counselors, and Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) within central Alabama's middle school system. The problem explored is adolescent substance abuse students whose academic attainment may be affected by their drug abuse.…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effect of a multiple high-risk behaviors prevention program applied comprehensively throughout an entire school-system involving universal, selective, and indicated levels of students at a local private high school during a 4-year period. The prevention program was created based upon the…

The purpose of this study was to measure pre and post-test knowledge in response to an educational intervention. This program evaluation was completed on 68 undergraduate nursing students to determine if education related to substance use, alcohol poisoning and high risk behavior had an impact on knowledge base. The educational intervention was…

Native American Indian adolescent substance abuse has been a longstanding health concern. There are few culturally tailored interventions for mild to moderate substance users. The purpose of this study was to measure the response of Native American Indian adolescents from the Plains tribal groups to a school-based culturally tailored substance…

Many family members are adversely affected by their loved ones drinking or drug problem. The aim of the present study was to explore changes in coping and enabling behaviors among family members who attended a community educational and psychosocial group for friends and family of a substance abuser, and to examine the concerns of these family…

The United States is a vehicle-dependent society and allows teens to obtain drivers licenses at age 16 or younger. Many factors have been linked to teen risky driving behaviors that resulted in teens receiving their first citations. This was the first study to investigate parental management of teens after they received their first citations…