This document is a collection of reprints of several reports presented to the Surgeon General of the United States by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The reports contain much information that is useful to educators and others who develop or implement school-based alcohol and other drug prevention programs.…

Criticizes a "Cosby Show" episode for airing mixed messages about teenage drinking. Instead of negotiating a logical consequence for their daughter's misbehavior, the TV parents (the Huxtables) projected the message that drunkenness is funny and a hangover is a fitting punishment. (MLH)

This booklet presents an overview of teenage drinking and teenagers' knowledge about drinking. Results from a variety of studies are summarized under these topics phrased as questions: (1) What are the consequences of teenage drinking? (2) How many teenagers and college students binge drink? (3) How big is the problem of teenage drinking? (4) What…

Whether a person drinks a little or a lot, one thing remains the same--alcohol is a drug that changes the body in specific ways. Information on alcohol, how it is made, and how it affects the body are presented in this book. Written in an easy to understand style, the text begins with a detailed explanation of the various uses of alcohol and how…

Using a classroom survey among 3061 secondary school students, focuses on the relationship between choice of different alcohol types and two indicators for regular drinking. Results indicate experience with western alcohol types to be associated with indicators for frequent drinking as well as experience with being drunk. Other findings are…

Reviews research on student assistance programs for early intervention in substance abuse and provides information from the evaluation of a multischool program in Washington state. Despite the widespread adoption of these programs, there is little substantiation of their effectiveness. Although participating students generally show improvements,…

A cross-sectional probability survey of Ontario students (N=3,870) in grades 7, 9, 11, and 13 examined the prevalence of alcohol and drug problems and the proportion of those with problems who receive treatment or report a need for treatment. Findings indicated serious problems resulting from alcohol or drugs. Discusses implications for preventing…

Psychoactive drugs are widely available in the United States. Many, such as coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol, are used commonly and acceptably by adults. For children and adolescents sorting through the complex messages about both licit and illicit drugs is difficult. Previous research examined differences between substance users and abusers with…

In many ways young people appear to be using and abusing alcohol as a ritual in their "rites of passage" to adulthood, perhaps as a symbolic means to demonstrate their "adultness." Anthropologists have documented the importance of rites of passage rituals for marking the successful passage from one position in a social…

Adolescents with alcohol or other drug problems may be referred to school psychologists for assessment and may demonstrate symptoms similar to handicapping conditions such as learning disabilities or emotional disturbances. School psychologists who work with these students need to have assessment techniques that will help them determine the…

Describes and evaluates the effectiveness of an alcohol-prevention program. Results suggest that parents will read and use information mailed to them. Although parents and children talked more about alcohol-related topics, changes in other parenting behaviors and in student self-reported alcohol use were not observed. (RJM)

Examined alcohol use among 7,799 adolescents. Found alcohol use highly correlated with composite effects of variables (behavioral intention; attitude toward school; school misconduct; time spent on sports, extracurricular activities, religion, and academics; grade average; gender; and grade level). Alcohol use was positively correlated with…

Values are a central concept in understanding and predicting human behavior. Value priority differences have been shown to predict important political, social, and economic attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify differences and similarities among the value hierarchies of adolescents who have never tried alcohol,…

Data collected in 1972 found single common factor accounting for positive correlations among various adolescent problem behaviors, including problem drinking, marijuana use, delinquent-type behavior, and precocious sexual intercourse. Conducted maximum-likelihood factor analyses in 1985 on new samples of high school juniors and seniors. Replicated…

Explored relationship between drug and alcohol abuse and eating disorders in female adolescents (n=826). Eating Disorders Risk Scale was adopted and correlated with drug and alcohol use, other forms of deviance, family and peer relationships, and depression. Findings support concept of generalized theory of addictions based on psychosocial,…