Objective: Compared to nonaffiliated students, Greek students engage in higher rates of prescription drug abuse (PDA). We examined PDA among Greek students compared to non-Greek students, and whether PDA in high school predicted joining a Greek organization in college. Participants: From November to December 2014, 509 undergraduate students at a…

The meta-analysis, that included 75 studies, examined the relationship between illegal drug consumption, on the one hand, and student academic and behavioral outcomes, on the other, for the middle school to college grade levels. The meta-analysis first (research question #1) addressed whether there is a statistically significant relationship…

This article summarizes a project focused on the PROSPER program delivery system as a formal vehicle for addressing substance misuse and abuse in Ohio communities. Promoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program delivery system designed to implement prevention…

Opioid misuse is considered a national epidemic (The White House Office of National Drug Control, 2011), however not much is known about school-based behaviors or experiences correlated to opioid misuse. This phenomenological study explored the correlation between externalizing/acting out behaviors in a school setting and opioid misuse and…

The potential spillover effects of the United States' opioid epidemic on children's educational outcomes have received surprisingly little attention from researchers. Accordingly, this study leverages national datasets of county-level opioid prescription rates and public school students' third- to eighth-grade academic achievement to provide the…

The progression from prescription opioid (RXO) abuse to RXO addiction is not well understood in adolescents, nor is the progression from RXO addiction to heroin abuse. The purpose of this pilot study was to characterize the development of RXO drug abuse, RXO drug addiction, and heroin abuse in a small cohort of adolescents recovering from opioid…

Prior research has identified a link between schools (particularly high schools) and neighborhood crime rates. However, it remains unclear whether the relationship between schools and crime is a reflection of other criminogenic dynamics at the neighborhood level or whether schools influence neighborhood crime patterns independently of other…

Aim: Young people who are socially engaged with people who inject drugs are at higher risk of transitioning to injecting drug use. We aimed to examine rates of exposure to injecting among young people in an online survey, and whether exposure to injecting was related to hepatitis C(HCV) knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional, online survey was…

Adolescents' motives for engaging in nonmedical prescription drug use is somewhat different than their reasons for using other drugs, such as marijuana. For some youth, nonmedical prescription drug use is an attempt to self-treat a medical condition, for others it is an effort to get high, and some youth misuse prescription drugs for both reasons.…

Using current research and real-life scenarios to motivate students to understand chemistry principles is a key strategy in learning and teaching. An illustration of psychoactive drugs referred to as "legal highs" used in the U.K. and Europe is presented to highlight key chemistry principles and relate the importance of chemistry…

Survey data on the problem of drug abuse in Russia show a high level of awareness of the issue among young people. To reduce the level of drug use in Russia, a comprehensive, focused, and coordinated program involving representatives of official state and social institutions, as well as institutions of civil society, is needed. Combining their…

Drug misuse in Northern Ireland, like many parts of the world, is becoming one of the major issues facing society today. A first stage to addressing this problem is effective drugs education and prevention strategies to school-aged young people. A survey of a range of education providers including mainstream and special needs schools, and school…

This study evaluated the influence of tobacco possession-use-purchase (PUP) law enforcement and illicit drug use and offers. Twenty-four towns were randomly assigned into two conditions. Both conditions focused on reducing minors' access to commercial sources of tobacco. The communities assigned to the experimental condition also increased their…

The increase in alcohol and cigarettes use among young people than any population strata is of great concern. The use of alcohol that began in African traditional society as an activity for political, religious, cultural and social relations has evolved over time into a problem of dependence and addiction. Despite concerted prevention efforts,…

There has been an observable rise in the prevalence of use of psychoactive substances in Russia. Of particular concern is use by children, adolescents, and young people, because it poses a serious threat to their health and life and to public safety. Deviant behavior consists of deviations from the norms that are accepted in a given society,…