Background: Prescription drug misuse among youth aged 12-18 remains high in the United States. Grounded in Social Norms Theory, school-based curricula have been shown to effectively challenge students' misperceptions of peer norms and safety regarding prescription drug misuse (PDM). Objective: The present study is a quasi-experimental evaluation…

We examined factors targeted in two popular prevention approaches with adolescent drug use and delinquency in South Africa. We hypothesized adolescent life skills to be inversely related and perceived norms to be directly related to later drug use and delinquency. Multiple regression and a relative weights approach were conducted for each outcome…

Guided by Anderson's theory of the code of the street, this study explored social mechanisms linking individual-level disadvantage factors with the adoption of beliefs grounded in the code of the street and with drug trafficking and gun carrying--the co-occurring behavior shaping violence among young men in urban areas. Secondary data were…

This study recruited 559 youths from detention centers (mean age was 15.4 years; 50.1% of detainees were girls) to investigate pathways that link witnessing community violence in the 12 months before detainment to drug and sexual risk behaviors in the two months preceding detainment. Through the use of audio-computer-assisted technology, data were…

This study investigates community-level prediction of adolescent substance use and problem behaviors using ratings by community leaders to assess the effects of four risk factors on levels of drug use and problem behaviors. Three questions are examined: (a) Can psychometrically sound measures of community leader perceptions of risk factors in…

THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION HAS FOCUSED ON DIFFERENT KINDS OF DRUG USERS AND THE NEED FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT. THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF DRUG USE, ONE OF WHICH IS CONFORMIST ADOLESCENT USE. DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED, MORE SUCCESSFUL DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT METHODS IS BEING PRESSURED FOR BY CONCERN OVER THE INCREASED USE OF DRUGS…

The author, based on his discussion, hypothesizes that: (1) the use of marijuana may serve to intensify the tendency toward an adolescent's alienation and (2) attitudinal changes do occur in people who are exposed to the illusionogens and that these changes are more certainly fixed with continued use. (Author/BY)

Popular culture now considers marijuana harmless, but research shows it has definite physiological and neurological effects, effacing memory and attention and producing cell damage and learning deficits. Young people turn to pot to escape the emotional pressures of adolescence. Parents and schools can help adolescents by setting firm prohibitions.…

This paper focuses upon patterns of alcohol abuse and permissiveness among a sample of 230 high school students residing in a U.S. military community in Europe. Patterns of abuse are seen as symptomatic of the military life style and the homogeneity of the environment surrounding the respondents. (Author)

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to survey the nature of the drug abuse problem among younger students; and (2) to determine whether profiles from abuse research on older student groups apply to a younger student sample. Subjects were 676 fifth graders in a semi-urban area. Incidence data on drug use and availability were gathered through…

The Teenage Health Teaching Modules (THTM) program is a health education curriculum for adolescents. Each THTM module frames an adolescent health task emphasizing development of self-assessment, communication, decision making, health advocacy, and self-management. This module seeks to help students articulate the healthy, positive group norms they…

A brief overview is presented on the incidence of AIDS among the adolescent population. Some recommendations are included on promoting behavior change through educational intervention. References from the ERIC data base are included. (JD)

This document consists of the first 10 issues of the newsletter, "Prevention Researcher," published during the 4-year period 1994 through 1997. The 1994 issues (two) focus on dating violence and youth gangs. The 1995 issues (two) focus on Internet resources for prevention professionals and on drunk driving. The 1996 issues (three) focus…