Examines the role of increasing use and heavy first-time use of alcohol and cigarettes in multisubstance abuse patterns for 4,192 secondary school students surveyed 3 times over a 4-year period. A history of licit substance use with increasing use levels is likely to precede use of other substances. (SLD)

Investigated relationship between perceived physical attractiveness and frequency of substance use among 1,297 adolescents. Female adolescents who rated themselves as unattractive were more likely to use illicit psychoactive substances than those who rated themselves as average or attractive. Perceived attractiveness did not contribute to…

Outlines public policy goals regarding substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, and violence. Concludes that the nation will continue to be high-risk until reforms are implemented that will equalize access to the opportunity structure. (DM)

Although prenatal drug exposure places children in high-risk categories, educators must guard against preconceptions regarding outcomes. Environmental influences play a crucial role in determining long-term outcomes, ranging from minimal to severe. Effective intervention entails prevention at all levels, combined with a comprehensive approach.…

This article addresses the rationale for linking addiction treatment programs and parenting education interventions in substance-abusing families. Specific components of a parenting program for women in recovery are detailed, including parenting classes and support groups, mother-child play groups, and family literacy activities. Program…

Explores ways that school counselors and other school personnel can identify children of substance abusers (COSAs) and address the issues and concerns associated with identification and labeling. Reviews pervasiveness of parental chemical dependency and potential impact of parental substance abuse on COSAs. Discusses behavior patterns of COSAs…

Describes a new approach to school-based drug abuse prevention called Student Assistance Programs (SAP). SAP offers various approaches tailored to particular settings and includes students, teachers, parents, and community representatives who define and resolve student problems including substance abuse. SAP facilitates the use of 12-step…

Examined whether teachers' abilities to identify accurately students at risk for substance abuse can be improved through attendance at specialized training program. Eighth-grade teacher participants (n=36) were compared to 27 teacher controls. After training, intervention teachers provided more accurate ratings among usage categories than did…

Among 78 mothers of Mexican-American adolescent inhalant users, many did not adhere to traditional marital and maternal roles, but this was not related to child's drug use. Child's drug use was related to indicators of household stability, including parents' marital status, father's employment status, and maternal emotional adjustment. (Author/SV)

Tests with linear structural equations (LISREL) suggest that an integrative model best explains interrelationships among peer deviancy, psychological vulnerability, inhalant availability, family environment, acculturative and socioeconomic stress, and educational attainment, and their longitudinal effects on inhalant use and drug use severity…

Undergraduates (n=141) read vignette about suicidal person with either Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, depression, drug abuse, anxiety, or adjustment problems. Found that suicidal person who was human immunodeficiency virus-positive engendered significantly less helpful responses from students than did suicidal person who had panic attacks.…

Reviews the sparse literature concerning the mental health of American Indian and Alaska Native women. Suggests research into various sources of stress experienced by Native women and related to drug and alcohol abuse. Discusses coping mechanisms and the particular stress factors affecting professional Native women. (SV)

Insights from chaos theory--the interconnectedness of everything, nonlinear cause and effect, leverage and the "tipping point," and the importance of aligning interventions within a system--are applied to social action and illustrated via the role of adventure education in school and community interventions in the Brattleboro (Vermont) Leadership…

Examines the use of peer-helping programs in minimizing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Discusses results of a meta-analysis of school-based drug-prevention programs, false conclusions about peer programs' ineffectiveness, features of two model programs that compared peer leadership to teacher/researcher-led programs, and suggestions for…

Determined the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among Texas high school students attending dropout prevention/recovery alternative schools. Student surveys indicated that a substantial number participated in behaviors that placed them at acute or chronic health risk. There were differences in prevalence of risk behaviors by gender,…