The effects of anticonvulsant medication or alcohol use during pregnancy on the development of children are examined. Malformations of children whose mothers used anticonvulsant medications or alcohol while pregnant are illustrated. Prevention of the use of alcohol and anticonvulsant medication by pregnant women is discussed. (CR)

This review examined school-based drug abuse prevention programs for 1989-94. From a literature review and interviews with a panel of experts in prevention research, 11 key components of effective prevention curricula were identified. These components are listed and discussed briefly. Dissemination of effective prevention programs is discussed.…

Surveyed over 900 students in the rural northwest in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 for alcohol and drug use. Measures self-reported usage of seventeen substances. The descriptive statistical results are reported by gender as well as grade-level usage rates. Discussion includes targeting drug prevention programs for specific grade and gender levels based…

Anonymous questionnaires administered to 1283 middle school/high school students and 930 college students revealed that most of these students viewed all types of alcohol intervention programs as somewhat effective in reducing alcohol abuse among youth. Analyses revealed that drinking motivations and behavior produced a significant effect on the…

A sample of 18 focus groups (subject ages 15-24) revealed young people's clear opinions on what constitutes an effective drinking and driving education program. Such programs should be student-centered, conducted in small group settings, emphasize real-life situations, and be delivered by people affected by drinking and driving. (RJM)

Tested the psychometric properties of an instrument used to assess adolescents' empowerment concerning alcohol. Empowerment was significantly and inversely associated with alcohol use after controlling for peer influence and self-efficacy. Suggests that psychological empowerment is theoretically meaningful and is significantly associated with…

Provides an overview of several environmental strategies that have proven successful in reducing drinking and driving among adolescents and young adults and suggests that integrating such strategies into present institutional initiatives can create significant and enduring reductions in drinking and driving among this population. (Author)

Explores first-, fourth-, and seventh-grade children's expectation of responses from parents and peers for accepting or refusing a drink. Children in all three grades expected negative reactions from parents. More fourth- and seventh-, than first-graders, expected positive peer reactions to drinking and anticipated strongly negative peer reactions…

Claims that the creation of healthy campus cultures requires reexamination of the values, artifacts, symbols, and rituals held by student subcultures. Such cultures are supported directly or indirectly by universities. Evaluates prospects for change on a campus, ways to understand student subcultures, and how to build new artifacts, traditions,…

Describes curriculum infusion, a prevention strategy that is particularly effective on commuter campuses. Faculty design modules for their own courses in which the prevention information fits seamlessly with the scholarly content and students actively process that information. Workers in academic affairs identify courses, recruit and train…

Compared 7th and 10th graders participating in social resistance or attitudinal alcohol prevention programs to controls. For 10th-graders, no outcome difference between interventions was found; at one-year follow-up, intervention subjects used less alcohol than controls. Seventh graders showed no usage effects of interventions two years…

Assessed personality factors of 152 adolescent drivers. Found that subjects convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) and juvenile offenders without DWI citations more often endorsed feelings of powerlessness and stressful life events than did drivers without DWI citations. DWI offenders were more likely to indicate that alcohol made them loud,…

Asserts that alcohol abuse is a major problem in Russian schools with as many as 70-75% of 11th graders being heavy drinkers. Maintains that there is a need for a unified, coordinated, goal-oriented antialcohol program in elementary and secondary grades. Presents suggested lesson plans with accompanying teacher background information for grades…

This study examined stages of drug habit acquisition and change among college students, basing the proposed stages of drug use on the Multi-Component Motivational Stages prevention model. Surveys indicated the model helped explain the stages of substance use. The proportion of youths at each stage differed by type of drug. (SM)

The 9 articles of this theme issue stem from a project on alcohol and drug abuse that involved 14 projects, 10 of which began with randomized clinical trials. These papers describe implementation problems associated with experimentation in field research and the focus on ensuring internal validity. (SLD)