This report describes alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among 715 University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) students. The report focuses on drug use at the higher frequency levels, rather than reporting proportions who have ever used various drugs. The separate classes of drugs distinguished are alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, marijuana, and…

A study examined whether billboard advertising of tobacco and alcohol products is differentially targeted toward White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic neighborhoods. The study analyzed 901 billboards in neighborhood commercial districts in San Francisco, California, giving particular attention to tobacco and alcohol billboards. Neighborhood census…

Because the use of tobacco contributes to a large number of deaths each year in the United States, a current research project at the University of Iowa tests the application of a number of theoretical ideas--including social bonding, diffusion, and the spiral of silence--and attempts to develop new ideas in an effort to reduce smoking. The…

The nature of a healthy lifestyle and its significance to quality of life is examined. Following a discussion on what is involved in a healthy lifestyle, major health problems are described: (1) smoking; (2) alcohol and drug abuse; (3) sexually transmitted diseases; (4) diet and obesity; (5) stress; and (6) inadequate sleep. Recommendations are…

Due to certain inconsistencies between students' reports of monthly versus yearly drug use, further analyses of self-reported drug use by high school senior classes of 1976-1979 were conducted. Previous reports of drug use frequency during the past month were roughly three times larger than estimates based on usage reports during the past year, a…

The current prevalence of drug use among American high school seniors and the trends in use since 1975 are the two major topics treated. Also reported are prevailing attitudes and beliefs among seniors concerning various types of drug use. Eleven separate classes of drugs are distinguished: marihuana (including hashish), inhalants, hallucinogens,…

The decade of the 70's has seen significant improvements in child health and dramatic insights into the biological, psychological, and social factors influencing children's growth and development. Four of the six major gains in health status listed in the Surgeon General's Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention relate to improvements in…

GRADES OR AGES: Grades 5-12. SUBJECT MATTER: Smoking. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide has three major parts--1) an outline of basic facts; 2) resource guide on smoking and its relationship to health and disease, with sample lesson plans and vocabulary; and 3) appendix, including questionnaires, selected key facts on smoking, a…

Family practice residents were studied to test the hypotheses that a higher incidence and greater severity of personal or emotional problems are associated with a higher incidence of maladaptive coping behaviors among women than men students. Implications for resident program design are discussed. (MSE)

The use of licit and illicit drugs by American young people has been a source of major policy and public health concerns for the United States since the mid-1960s. The use of these substances is a leading cause of eventual disease and death in the population, but it also contributes in important ways to mortality and morbidity during adolescence. …

In 2005, the Monitoring the Future study marked its 31st year of conducting national surveys of substance use among American young people. Beginning with the first survey of high school seniors in 1975, the study has provided the nation with a window through which to view the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illicit drug use,…

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the reasons why girls and young women smoke, drink and use drugs, and what increases or lowers their risk of substance abuse. It demonstrates that certain key risk factors for substance abuse are unique to girls and young women and pose a greater threat to them than to boys and young men. This…

The Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth, and their families and protecting every child from harm. By publishing a diverse range of views on a wide array of topics, "Children's Voice"…

The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) Act of 1986 provides funding to school districts to supplement local efforts to eliminate violence as well as drug and alcohol use by their students. In 1996-97, the Austin Independent School District (Texas) (AISD) received $622,692 from the SDFSC grant, with supplemental funds later bringing…

Adolescent drug use in the United States remains higher than that of any other industrialized country. To explore this problem, demographic and psychosocial variables from a survey of 346 pre- and early adolescents were used to predict membership in clusters of students with varying substance use attitudes and expectancies. Cluster analysis…