Prospective associations of social self-control with drug use among youth from regular and alternative high schools

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study examined the one year prospective associations between adolescent social self-control and drug outcomes (cigarette use, alcohol use, marijuana use, hard drug use, and problem drug use) among adolescents from regular and continuation high schools. In our previous cross-sectional study, poor social self-control was found to be associated with higher drug use, controlling for 12 personality disorder categories. In this study, we attempted to find out (a) whether lack of social self-control predicted drug use one year later, and (b) whether drug use at baseline predicted social self-control one year later.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed 2081 older adolescents from 9 regular (N = 1529) and 9 continuation (alternative) (N = 552) high schools in the Los Angeles area. Data were collected at two time points in an interval of approximately 1 year.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Past 30-day cigarette smoking, marijuana use, hard drug use, and problem drug use at baseline were found to predict lower social self-control at follow-up, controlling for baseline social self-control and demographic variables. The effect of problem drug use as a one-year predictor of social self-control was found to be moderated by school type (regular or continuation high school), such that the relationship was significant for continuation high school students only. Conversely, social self-control was found to predict past 30-day alcohol use, marijuana use, and problem drug use, controlling for baseline drug use and demographic variables. For alcohol use, marijuana use, and problem drug use outcomes, school type was not found to moderate the effects of social self-control, though an interaction effect was found regarding cigarette smoking. Social self-control was a significant predictor of cigarette use only at regular high school.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results indicate that social self-control and drug use share a reciprocal relationship. Lack of social self-control in adolescents seems to result in increased drug use, which in turn is likely to further decrease social self-control. Thus, it seems that social self-control is an alterable cognitive-behavioral attribute which can be improved through skill-based interventions in order to prevent drug use among adolescents. Policies aimed at preventing drug abuse among adolescents may benefit from institutionalizing social self-control skills training.</p

The Prevalence of Evidence-Based Drug Use Prevention Curricula in U.S. Middle Schools in 2005

Since the promulgation of its Principles of Effectiveness in 1998, the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools of the U.S. Department of Education has promoted the use of evidence-based drug prevention programs in the nation’s schools. We report the results of a survey, conducted in 2005, of a nationally representative sample of 1,721 schools with middle school grades. Respondents comprised the staff member in the school identified as most knowledgeable about the school’s drug prevention programs. The total response rate was 78%. Respondents answered questions concerning which drug use prevention curricula they used, and, if they used more than one, which one they used the most frequently. Three federally-sponsored registries were used to specify which curricula were considered evidence-based. Findings from 2005 were then compared to earlier estimates based on a similar 1999 survey. We found that 42.6% of the nation’s schools with middle school grades were using an evidence-based curriculum, an increase of 8% from our 1999 estimate. The two most prevalent curricula in use, at 19% each, were Life Skills Training and Project ALERT. We note, however, that only 8% of Life Skills Training users and 9% of Project ALERT users reported using those curricula the most, and that only 23% of respondents overall reported that they used an evidence-based curriculum the most. More information is needed as to why over three-quarters of the nation’s schools with middle school grades continue to administer curricula that have not been identified as effective

Recognition and Liking of Tobacco and Alcohol Advertisements Among Adolescents: Relationships with Susceptibility to Substance Use

Background. Exposure to tobacco and alcohol advertising has been associated with adolescent substance use. However, it is not clear whether favorable reactions to advertising are an antecedent to or a consequence of substance use. This study investigated relationships between adolescents′ levels of susceptibility to substance use and their recognition and liking of tobacco and alcohol advertising. Method. Eighth-grade students viewed pictures of tobacco and alcohol advertisements with brand names and identifying information obscured, attempted to identify the brand name and type of product being advertised, and rated their liking of the advertisements. Subjects were divided into three substance use status groups: nonsusceptible nonusers (have never used and do not intend to do so), susceptible nonusers (have not used but have not made a firm commitment not to experiment in the future), and users (have tried the substance). Results. Susceptible nonusers liked the tobacco advertisements at a level that was significantly greater than that of the nonsusceptible nonsmokers and comparable to that of the users. Liking of the alcohol advertisements generally increased with alcohol use status. Conclusions. These results suggest that tobacco advertisements ostensibly targeted to adult smokers may have the effect of recruiting new adolescent smokers

Correlates of Youths’ Fear of Victimization

This study investigated the role that depression, deviant behaviors, and exposure to violence may play in youths\u27 fears of victimization. In-school youth (ages 11 to 20 years) completed an anonymous, self-administered health behavior questionnaire that measured a variety of psychosocial variables. Included in the questionnaire were items concerning fears of personal victimization, demographics, depression, deviant behaviors, and previous exposure to violence. Logistic regressions revealed that gender, grade, ethnicity, depression, and previous exposure to violence were significantly associated with high fears of victimization. The implications of this study for future research into children\u27s fears and for prevention programs are discussed

Process Evaluation of Community Coalitions for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention: A Case Study Comparison of Researcher- and Community-Initiated Models

During the past decade, coalitions have been assumed to be central to the structure and functioning of community health promotion and disease prevention projects. However, there has been little empirical evaluation of community coalitions. The present paper presents case studies of two different coalition models, one a coalition developed to support a community-based drug abuse prevention trial, and the other, a CSAP Community Partnership Demonstration Program site. Comparison of the two coalitions on key characteristics indicated that they were similar except for their impetus for initiation (researcher versus community-initiated) and primary purpose (to support experimental program components versus to coordinate prevention programming and develop new prevention services). Members of the two coalitions (n = 51 in the researcher-initiated, and n = 49 in the community-initiated coalition) responded to a written survey that assessed immediate coalition process and activity outcomes, including perceptions of coalition efficiency, outcome efficacy, interagency coordination, and benefits of involvement. After controlling for demographic differences, the two groups of coalition members were similar, overall, on the measures of immediate outcomes. Univariate analyses indicated only one difference: members of the researcher-initiated coalition had higher ratings of perceived action committee effectiveness than did members of the community-initiated coalition. The results suggest that the impetus for initiation and primary purpose of a coalition may not be as important as other factors in influencing immediate process and activity outcomes

Alcohol-related Outcomes of the Day One Community Partnership

This paper presents the alcohol-related outcomes of the Day One Community Partnership, a coalition located in a diverse urban community in Southern California that implemented comprehensive alcohol abuse prevention activities based on a public health model. The most promising outcome was the adoption and implementation by city government of a comprehensive policy to reduce alcohol availability. A school-based survey indicated that from baseline to three-year follow-up, there was a trend towards reductions in 30-day alcohol use for youth in grades 7, 9, and 12, and a marginally significant decline in 7-day alcohol use among high school seniors. There was an inconsistent pattern of changes in alcohol-related outcomes such as beliefs and behavioral intentions. Possible explanations for the pattern of results are discussed

Evaluation of Resistance Skills Training Using Multitrait-Multimethod Role Play Skill Assessments

Even though resistance skills training is a fundamental component of many social influence prevention programs, few researchers have adequately evaluated whether such training results in improved resistance skills. This study evaluated the immediate effects of resistance skills training in Project AAPT, a school-based alcohol use prevention program. A multitrait-multimethod assessment procedure was used to differentiate alcohol refusal skills and refusal self efficacy of subjects who received skills training from those who received another type of prevention curriculum. The procedure utilized three raters (an adult data collector, a student observer and the subject him/herself) to assess responses to a role played beer offer. Results indicated that students who received the resistance training curriculum performed better on the skill measure, and showed greater refusal self efficacy than did students who received the other prevention curricula. Students who received the training were also more likely to use two of the four refusal techniques emphasized in the curriculum, giving a reason or excuse, and applying counterpressure than were untrained students. These results strengthen the argument that improved resistance skills are a significant mediator of prevention program outcomes