Student athletes (N=563) were surveyed to examine their attitudes toward the use of painkilling drugs. Twenty-nine percent reported that they felt there is nothing wrong with using painkilling drugs on the day of competition (when injured) to cope with pain. Recommendations for coaches, educators, team physicians, team trainers, and administrators…

Article examines a Drug Court that offers culturally specific programming as a strategy to enhance retention in the treatment of female and African-American male substance abuse offenders. Study found that mandating treatment was insufficient to foster client engagement. Retention was significantly enhanced by treatment that recognized cultural…

To be effective with rehabilitation counseling, counselors need to be aware of cultural patterns of drug use. This study analyzed trends in heroin use between 1990 and 1997 among the arrestee population in some parts of the South. Findings suggest geographic, ethnic, and age-related variables for heroin use. (JDM)

Investigated the effect of one agency's change from mixed-gender to single-gender treatment on client retention and treatment completion. Results indicate that substance abuse treatment provided in single-gender settings does not significantly increase treatment retention and completion. Findings indicate that gender-specific treatment must do…

Assessed kindergartners' knowledge of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATODs), examining the congruence between parent ATOD use and children's knowledge. Data collected prior to an ATOD prevention trial for kindergartners and parents indicated that most students recognized cigarettes, half recognized alcoholic beverages, and 17 percent…

Examined AIDS knowledge, condom attitudes, and sexual risk taking behavior among 193 juvenile offenders on probation or parole who were substance abusers. Surveys indicated that most youths were sexually active. Many reported unsafe sexual practices. General attitudes toward condoms and reported use of condoms at first sexual intercourse were the…

Established normative data on the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) (A. Petersen and others, 1988) of two population-based birth cohorts of Finnish twin boys and girls assessed at ages 11-12 and 14 years (complete data for 664 boys and 681 girls). Also reports longitudinal analyses of the associations between pubertal development and substance use.…

Investigated whether correlates of substance use changed across historical time. A high degree of consistency was found across historical time in predictors of past month cigarette or alcohol use and past year marijuana or cocaine use. Some predictors were consistently linked to substance use. Consistency of other predictors was contingent upon…

Surveyed Ohio safe and drug-free school coordinators regarding their perceptions of how to improve safe and drug-free school programs. Training topics considered most beneficial included effective techniques for enhancing youth success, building parent-school-community partnerships, and providing conflict resolution skills. Lack of time and school…

Synthesizes articles in this special issue, highlighting the increasing public policy response to connecting child welfare and substance abuse services that will simultaneously serve children and their families affected by substance abuse. Considers challenges faced by these cooperative efforts, including the need to improve administrative data,…

Examined differences between the visibility of drugs and drug use in over 2000 neighborhoods, surveying residents regarding drug- and alcohol-related behaviors and attitudes and comparing the responses of poor, urban, African Americans versus people from comparison neighborhoods. The most disadvantaged neighborhoods had the most visible drug…

Evaluated predictors of therapy attendance in a sample of substance abusing youth in two southwestern runaway shelters. Runaway youth and their families were engaged into a 15-session ecologically-based family therapy (EBFT) intervention. Fewer days between pretreatment assessment and first therapy session predicted more sessions attended. No…

Presents a detailed overview of the Family Empowerment Intervention (FEI), a system-oriented intervention delivered in-home by well-trained nontherapists. A clinical trial of FEI targeted arrested youths and their families. Topics covered included: theoretical foundations and goals of FEI, structural intervention strategies, and phases of the…

This study describes Australian media portrayal of mental illnesses, focusing on depression. A random sample of 1,123 items was selected for analysis from a pool of 13,389 nonfictional media items about mental illness collected between March 2000 and February 2001. Depression was portrayed more frequently than other mental illnesses. Items about…

In this article a historical overview of the evolution of the Women's Trauma Integrated Services model at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is presented. Milestones in women's services policy development at SAMHSA (1992-1998) and in trauma treatment development for four different trauma populations (1960-1998)…