Students (N=4,466) in 56 schools participated in 3-year study on effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention. Students who received at least 60 percent of prevention program (N=3,684) were included in analyses of program effectiveness. Significant prevention effects were found for cigarette smoking, marijuana use,…

Used 2-year prospective study of 2,102 young adolescents to assess relationship between family structure (intact, one-parent, stepparent) and whether cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and sexual intercourse had ever been tried. Logistic regression results showed significantly higher levels of ever-usage for children of nonintact families. (Author/NB)

Exposed students (N=2,319) in grades 7-10 to drug use study results showing use of cannabis (marijuana) as uncommon among peer group. Measured influence of new data on perceptions and how changed perceptions might affect cannabis use. Found changing perceptions was difficult. Found student perceptions of drug use bore no relationship to personal…

A survey of 23 White and 58 Hispanic adolescent mothers (up to 17 years old) indicated that over 50 percent used cigarettes, marijuana, or alcohol before 12-16 weeks of pregnancy, but most substance use ceased after 12-16 weeks of pregnancy. No significant differences existed between ethnic groups in substance use. (SLD)

Examined cognitive motivations for alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents. Identified four factors for drug use. Boys were more motivated to use alcohol and cannabis for Social Cohesion and cannabis for Enhancing Positive Affect and Creativity than girls. Older, more than younger, adolescents used drugs to Reduce Negative Affect. All…

Analyzes screening data on arrested youths (n=361) at the Hillsborough County, Florida Juvenile Assessment Center in November 1993. Results provide support for the effectiveness of the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument in differentiating among youths released to the community unsupervised, youths placed on home detention, and youths placed in…

Examines the conceptual and empirical foundations of individual drug use stage development and progression related to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Research examining interdrug use progression among youths supports the idea of a generally invariant sequence, involving nonuse to legal drug use, marijuana, and finally other illegal drug use.…

The utility of a generalized estimating equations approach to the analysis of longitudinal data was demonstrated through investigation of the role of parental marijuana use in 763 families on lagged changes in marijuana use by their adolescent children over 6 years. Over time, parental use was positively related to adolescent use. (SLD)

Examines possible relationships between self-efficacy for avoiding marijuana use and theoretically related measures in a sample of 161 men and 51 women who sought marijuana cessation treatments. Predictive validity was stronger for frequency of posttreatment use than for abstinence status. Discusses the need for better assessment of the efficacy…

Tests the extent to which personality, environmental factors, and conventional behaviors predict drug taking among a sample of 199 Australian high school students. Results support the view that personality and environmental factors as well as conventional behaviors are related to drug use. Predictors of drug use vary with the drug in question.…

Explores the effects of race and drug of choice among male offenders (n=53) in a minimum security prison. Results indicate that the best adjusted offenders were blacks who identified marijuana as their drug of choice, while the most poorly adjusted offenders were blacks who identified cocaine as their drug of choice. (JPS)

In an on-going debate over the consequences of adolescent employment, there is growing agreement that work intensity (i.e., longer hours) fosters underage drinking and other substance use. The current study furthers our understanding of the relationship between hours of employment and substance use in adolescence by testing whether it is evident…

A randomized trial tested the efficacy of three curriculum versions teaching drug resistance strategies, one modeled on Mexican American culture; another modeled on European American and African American culture; and a multicultural version. Self-report data at baseline and 14 months post-intervention were obtained from 3,402 Mexican heritage…

A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected during a secondary prevention intervention study was conducted to describe patterns of drug use in a non-treatment sample of young drug users recruited in ten further-education colleges across inner London. Participants were 200 young people who were either weekly cannabis users and/or who had…

Drug education programs that rely on an abstinence based philosophy neglect, and may even contribute to, the potentially adverse consequences experienced by young people who already engage in this potentially health-compromising behaviour. A predominant focus of drug research during the initial wave of rising cannabis use by young people in the…