While many adolescents and young adults experiment with substances (e.g., alcohol, cigarette smoking, marijuana), recent research suggests that rural youth and young adults may be more at risk for substance use than their urban counterparts. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationships between rural adolescents' prosocial…

The current study examined associations between organized activity involvement, academic achievement, and problem behavior in a sample of youth from a non-agricultural based rural community (M[subscript age] = 15.26, Age range = 11-19 years, N = 456). Analyses examined whether associations varied as a function of adolescent gender and age.…

The transition to high school has been identified as a potentially difficult time in adolescents' lives. Reductions in both academic and social functioning often accompany this transition. While these effects have been documented in urban youth, the move to high school has not been extensively studied in rural minority youth. Toward that end, the…

Alcohol and drug use among youth has been of increased concern to educators, politicians, parents, and students in the past few years. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and use of alcohol and drugs in the rural region of northern Idaho and eastern Washington state. A questionnaire was designed to collect demographic…

A concern to many interested in the development and growth of teenagers is a serious deterioration in the messages of some rock music. Rock music is considered a regenerative and revolutionary act by artists in the music industry--the energy center of a new culture. The psychological impact and meaning of rock music for adolescents is addressed as…

"Say Yes First--To Rural Youth and Family Alcohol/Drug Prevention" (SYF) was a 5-year, federally-funded U.S.D.H.H.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) project that involved 859 children in the class of the year 2000. The children in four rural school districts were followed from Grade 4 to Grade 8 from 1991 to 1996. Initial results in a…

Examined substance use among rural black and rural white students (n=1,915). Found that black males were significantly less likely than white males to drink alcohol; get drunk; smoke cigarettes; or use smokeless tobacco, hallucinogens, and sedatives. Black females were significantly less likely than white females to drink alcohol; get drunk; smoke…

A study was done to determine if certain social variables outside of the school environment would show a relationship with substance abuse. Non-school activities considered were organized athletics, clubs, and music and drama organizations. A survey was distributed to 7,426 secondary school and middle school students in a large Midwestern…