A quasi-experimental evaluation of Students Against Driving Drunk.

The current research was designed to assess the effectiveness of one nationally prominent and highly publicized driving while intoxicated (DWI) prevention program for youth, Students Against Driving Drunk (S.A.D.D.). Process and outcome data were collected over a 2-year period in two states--California and New Mexico. In each state, one treatment school which implemented S.A.D.D. was compared to a closely matched comparison school on a variety of DWI-related measures over three waves of survey data collection. Process data indicated that in neither school was the entire S.A.D.D. model implemented. Student participation was moderate in the California school and marginal in the New Mexico school. There was also little evidence that S.A.D.D. stimulated increased curriculum attention to DWI issues. Outcome data provided no evidence for effects of S.A.D.D. on any of the DWI measures. General maturational trends in these variables were observed in the study cohorts, but these trends were not differentiated between the treatment and comparison schools. There was also no support for the concern that S.A.D.D. may stimulate student drinking by encouraging alternative means of transportation for intoxicated students.

Cigarette advertising and adolescent experimentation with smoking.

The extent to which cigarette advertising contributes to increases in smoking has been debated by public health professionals and the tobacco industry. One aspect of this debate has been the degree to which advertising influences smoking among adolescents. Previous research suggests that there are significant relationships between measures of advertising and smoking. However, potential simultaneous relationships between these measures have not been addressed. Observed correlations may arise from the effects of advertising on smoking or from smokers' selective exposure to advertisements. This study examined relationships between cigarette advertising and smoking experimentation. Using environmental and psychological measures of advertising exposure, it was demonstrated that adolescents who experimented with cigarettes were better able to recognize advertised products than those who had not, a selective exposure effect. Conversely, subjects who were better at recognizing advertised brands were more likely to have experimented with cigarettes, an effect due to their exposure to cigarette advertising.

The assessment of parent-led prevention programs: a preliminary assessment of impact.

This article reports on a preliminary study of the impact of parent-led prevention groups on youthful drug and alcohol use. In addition, the study assessed the extent to which families involved with parent-led prevention programs reported improved family relations and increased parental control of children's social activities--two major mechanisms by which parent-group advocates claim their activities alter youth substance use patterns. Consistent with the claims of parent-group advocates, the study results suggest that the parent groups did have some impact on family relations and on parental control of children's social activities. The evidence for an impact on drug and alcohol use was, however, weak. A somewhat unexpected finding was that parents who become involved in parent-led prevention activities may not be those parents whose children are at highest risk.

The assessment of parent-led prevention programs: a national descriptive study.

This article reports on the first, large-scale, systematic, descriptive study of parent-led prevention programs. The study explored the history of parent groups, their structure and activities, the roles of participants in the groups and the perceptions of parents, youth, and community leaders of the groups. Robust small sample analysis techniques were used to evaluate the process data collected in this study. The results indicate that parent-led prevention is an active, although relatively small-scale grass-roots movement. Broad support for the movement exists within the communities where groups arise, and the presence of parent-led programs leads to greater support for community agencies. This support is a major mechanism by which parent groups alter the community climate, allowing agencies to implement policies that might otherwise be considered too controversial to be accepted.

Alcohol use and the appearance of alcohol problems among first offender drunk drivers.

Drinking patterns among first offender drunk drivers are described using two quantitative dimensions, drinking frequency (the number of occasions on which alcohol was consumed) and continuation (the probability that the drinker will go on to drink several drinks once one drink has been consumed). The two independent dimensions of drinking patterns are shown to be differentially related to demographic characteristics of the subject population. Further, the patterns of drinking described by the two dimensions predict the appearance of alcohol related problems. It is demonstrated that demographic characteristics of the sample are also related to reports of alcohol problems independent of drinking frequency and continuation.

Short-term memory impairment in cannabis-dependent adolescents.

The concentration of delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol in marijuana available in the United States has increased by 250% since investigations of the effects of marijuana on short-term memory first appeared in scientific journals. Moreover, previous investigations of short-term memory in long-term marijuana smokers involved adults only. We evaluated the auditory/verbal and visual/spatial memory of 10 cannabis-dependent adolescents and compared the results with performance of 17 subjects in two control groups. The control groups included 8 adolescent drug abusers who had not been long-term users of cannabis and another 9 adolescents who had never abused any drug. All three groups were matched on age, IQ, and absence of previous learning disabilities. Adolescents with a history of frequent alcohol or phencyclidine abuse were excluded from entering the study. A battery of seven neuropsychological tests was administered initially to all subjects and a parallel test battery was administered 6 weeks thereafter. Significant differences between the cannabis-dependent group and the two control groups were obtained initially on the Benton Visual Retention Test (F[2,24] = 6.07) and the Wechsler Memory Scale Prose Passages (F[2,23] = 7.04). After 6 weeks of supervised abstention from intoxicants, subjects in the cannabis-dependent group showed some significant improvement on the Wechsler Memory Prose Passages score and on the Benton Visual Retention Test; however, the improvement failed to achieve statistical significance. We concluded that cannabis-dependent adolescents have selective short-term memory deficits that continue for at least 6 weeks after the last use of marijuana.

Drinking and driving among youth: a study of situational risk factors.

The situational factors associated with youthful driving while intoxicated (DWI) and riding with an impaired driver (RWID) are examined. Data were collected from separate samples of youth who had driven while impaired by alcohol and who had ridden with an alcohol-impaired driver. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there are consistent situational factors associated with DWI and RWID among youth, and to ascertain whether the situational factors vary as a function of demographic variables. The results indicate that DWI and RWID are largely a function of the role alcohol plays in the youth culture. When situationally determined, DWI and RWID appear to be controlled by a perceived need to get home or to get a passenger home. The implications of these results for future prevention program planning are discussed.

Screening for risk factors for adolescent alcohol and drug use.

While alcohol and drug abuse are widely prevalent among adolescents, screening for drug and alcohol use, abuse, and risk factors is not a routine practice in primary care pediatrics. This article presents data from a pilot investigation of an instrument for in-office screening of alcohol and drug use and abuse problems. A 42-item questionnaire was administered to two patient populations: 97 youths from a drug abuse treatment program and 206 youths from a private pediatric practice. The questionnaire successfully discriminated between the two samples and appears capable of discriminating drug and alcohol risk within the samples. This research suggests that a simple paper-and-pencil questionnaire can successfully discriminate the degree of risk of substance abuse in adolescent patient populations and that such an instrument can be successfully integrated into the routine activities of pediatric practice.