Researchers examined the extent of drug and alcohol use among 255 4-H youth. When results were compared to local school surveys, no statistically significant differences emerged between 4-H members' drug and alcohol use and student use. Seventy percent of 4-H members indicated that 4-H had influenced their attitudes about substance use. (RJM)

Outlines what is required of school districts for compliance with new regulations that require employers to test drivers with a commercial driver's license for the illegal use of alcohol and controlled substances. (MLF)

A survey in a rural Texas school district revealed that as many as 85% of the students in grades 6-12 drink alcohol. Students believed their drinking routines to be normal, whereas teachers and parents felt that prevalent alcohol use and abuse had definite negative effects. (LP)

Provides the following explanations for the failure of drug education programs: (1) programs send confusing and dangerous messages; (2) the power of the media negates almost totally everything programs try to accomplish; and (3) drug education efforts are fragmented. Discusses how to correct these problems. (JS)

Analyzed self-reported history of parasuicide with respect to use of intoxicants in national sample of 12,000 Norweigan adolescents. Proportion of parasuicides was 8.3%, being higher among girls and those living without both parents; and rate increased with age, use of intoxicants, depression, and loneliness. Found positive associations between…

Sixth graders completed a survey investigating the relationship of school and home self-esteem to history of substance use, membership in alternative education programs, gender, and race. Both school and home self-esteem inversely related to tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Students in nonmainstream programs had significantly lower home and school…

An anonymous questionnaire examined alcohol use, the social context of drinking, and sensation seeking among rural seventh through 12th graders. The sensation-seeking trait proved of moderate importance in distinguishing among different alcohol abuse practices. Social context measures were effective in distinguishing among levels on each indicant…

The history of Aboriginal production and use of alcohol prior to white contact reveals that alcohol use originated in Central America and rapidly diffused to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. However, Aboriginal alcohol use was generally controlled and supervised during ceremonies, and only after white contact did alcohol use…

Examines the impact of Internet information resources on the development and adaptation of research strategies based on a study of federal alcohol control policy. Considers how Internet access affects utilization of information services within an organization, and describes measures of utilization and effectiveness for assessing the impact of…

Adolescents tend to overestimate peer drinking; the resulting misperception of the social norm predicts the child's own future drinking. This study examined the misperception's relatedness to a person's drinking pattern in order to facilitate the segmentation of the audience for health education interventions. Adolescent Health and Lifestyle…

The present study examines predictors of heavy drinking frequency and drinking-related problems among more than 600 college students. Controlling for high school drinking frequency, results of multiple regression analyses showed that more frequent heavy drinking was predicted by being male and risk factors of more frequent marijuana and tobacco…

Research suggests that youth are consuming more alcohol and at younger ages than in the past. Data also indicate that alcohol consumption is associated with participation in other risk behaviors including aggression and sexual behaviors. As part of a randomized control effectiveness trial for an HIV prevention program, 480 Vietnamese youth (15-20…

A sample of 126 consecutively admitted residential treatment children (mean age = 9.86, SD=1.84; 70.6% male; 42.1% African American; 50% Caucasian) were studied over a five-year period to identify predictors of length-of-stay. Cox regression was the primary statistical method used to analyze psychiatric and behavioral rating data for children…

Four years of longitudinal data from 2,153 families with a 5th- or 6th-grade preadolescent participating in a family-focused pediatric primary-care-based prevention program were used to examine whether prevention effects were moderated by positive parenting and/or adolescent gender. Alcohol and tobacco use, internalizing problems, and…

The relationship of self-esteem and depression with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use was tested in a California statewide sample of more than 4,300 Asian American high school students comprising five subgroups: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese. Estimated prevalence rates of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among…