Examined the impact of a school-based substance abuse prevention program on alternative high school students' risk for violence. Analysis of students followed over 12 months indicated that there was a higher risk for victimization among male control students. No intervention effect was observed for female students or for perpetration among males.…

Examined whether associations between prenatal substance use and birth and infant outcomes varied by maternal age and race. Data on all singleton live births in Minnesota from 1990-98 indicated that poor birth outcomes and infant death were generally lower for whites than for African Americans and American Indians. Prenatal substance use varied by…

Examined the relationship between students' perceptions of a problem behavior prevention program, All Stars, and changes in program variables-bonding; normative beliefs; ideals; and commitment. Three factors-Program Enjoyment, Student Engagement, and Teacher Relationship-were used to predict changes in four variables. Results indicate Student…

A study of 244 street youth found that runaways receiving training in a peer-based intervention that included principles derived from the health belief model significantly increased their knowledge about HIV. Contrary to the health belief model, however, knowledge and greater perceived chance for HIV were associated with high risk behavior.…

Investigated the impact of parental substance abuse on development of children in foster care. Found that although foster children presented low average cognitive scores, they improved significantly in cognitive functioning during placement. Children with prenatal drug exposure scored significantly lower but made more progress than other children…

Investigated outcomes of referring child welfare clients for substance abuse, examining relationships between gender, prior treatment, court-ordered intervention, significant others' support, and treatment and placement outcomes. Found that significant others' support positively influences all outcomes, while court-ordered intervention was not…

This study explored the philosophical issues hindering the linkage of substance abuse and domestic violence treatment. Results suggest that counselors tend to use treatment models that could not concurrently assign responsibility and address either present or past victimization. (Author)

The influence of neighborhoods on adolescent behaviors has received increasing research attention. In the present study, we use structural equation models to specify pathways from neighborhoods to adolescent cigarette and alcohol use through parental closeness, parental monitoring, parent substance use, and peer substance use. We use a national…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of Reconnecting Youth, a prevention program for at-risk high school youth. Data are from a large, independently evaluated effectiveness trial in two diverse urban school districts. A total of 1,218 students participated: 50% were male; average age was 15. We tested whether positive efficacy…

Differences between residential and commuter first-year male college students were examined with respect to students' perceptions of the parent-child relationship and its influence on students' use of alcohol and marijuana. Fifty residential and 57 commuter students completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of parenting and the…

This study examines substance use at a church-affiliated university which prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drug substances. The purpose was to investigate the prevalence of substance use, the prevention efforts put forth by the university, and whether religious beliefs, which prohibit substance use, are protective. While the findings…

The literature provides ample evidence of the relationship of substance abuse to crime. Research over the last 20 years has established a strong correlation between substance abuse and juvenile delinquency (held, 1998). Currently, there are more than 350,000 juveniles on probation and in continuing care programs in the U.S. who have substance…

In this article, the author describes the San Francisco Sheriff's Department (SFSD) Life Skills for Prisoners Program. The program was designed to enhance and expand the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project, which had operated successfully for three years in the San Francisco County Jail as a restorative justice program. The mission of SFSD is to…

This study focuses on (a) American 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students' access to, and use of substance abuse counseling services via schools and (b) associations between such access and student substance use prevalence. From 1999 through 2003, student data were obtained from the Monitoring the Future study; and school data were obtained through…

College students' ecstasy (MDMA) use increased significantly in recent years, yet little is known about these students. In this study, the authors used the Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Studies (CORE) survey to compare 29 college students who had used ecstasy and other illicit drugs with 90 students who had used marijuana and no other illicit…