The impact of a written parental consent policy on estimates from a school-based drug use survey.

The authors examine differences between mean, variance, and correlation parameter estimates derived from a full school-based sample and subsamples restricted by the provision of parental consent. A total of 1,607 students at 21 continuation high schools and 1,192 students at 3 traditional high schools completed a survey containing variables related to sociodemographics, drug use, mental health, and violence. The employment of a researcher-initiated home-telephone-call procedure substantially increased the parental response rate over a student-/school-assisted consent method. The subsamples restricted by the written consent criterion showed some small biases in estimates of sociodemographic variables but little or no biases on measures related to mental health, drug use, or violence measures. The augmentation of the written consent samples with verbally consented students reduced observed biases.

Characteristics of eighth-grade students who initiate self-care in elementary and junior high school.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether children who care for themselves for longer periods of time are at increased risk of poor grades, truancy, anger, family conflict, stress, risk-taking, and peer influences (in addition to the increased risk of substance use previously reported). Demographic characteristics of eighth-grade students who initiate self-care in junior high school are compared with those initiating self-care in elementary school. Further, increased risks for those initiating self-care in elementary school are examined. Over two thirds of the respondents (67.8%) cared for themselves after school without adult supervision at some time during the week; 23.5% for 1 to 4 hours per week, 15.7% for 5 to 10 hours per week, and 28.6% for 11 or more hours per week. Of those in self-care, 48.5% initiated self-care during elementary school and 51.5% during junior high school. Students who were in the highest category of self-care (greater than or equal to 11 hours per week) vs those in self-care zero hours per week were 1.5 to 2 times as likely to score high on risk-taking, anger, family conflict, and stress, to be more likely to see their friends as their major source of influence, and to attend more parties. The self-reports of academic grades did not differ. The grade of initiation of self-care (elementary vs junior high school) conferred additional risk for drinking alcohol (odds ratio = 1.4), risk-taking tendencies (odds ratio = 1.5), and attending parties (odds ratio = 1.6).

Substance use among eighth-grade students who take care of themselves after school.

This investigation focused on substance use among children who regularly care for themselves after school (latchkey children). The data, collected from 4932 eighth-grade students, indicated that self-care is an important risk factor for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Data collected from 2185 parents validated these findings. Eighth-grade students, who took care of themselves for 11 or more hours a week, were at twice the risk of substance use as those who did not take care of themselves at all. This relationship held at all levels of sociodemographic status, extracurricular activities, sources of social influence, and stress. Of the 186 stratified tests of the relationship, 90% were significant; even those not found to be significant were in the direction expected. Path analyses suggest that risk-taking, having friends who smoke, and being offered cigarettes may partially explain the relationship between self-care and substance use. Those eighth-grade students who select friends who smoke and place themselves in situations in which they are offered cigarettes may be manifesting a desire to display their sense of maturity and independence. The fact that the increase in substance use occurred among almost all strata tested and the fact that mediation was not complete suggest that more than one mechanism may account for the associated increase in substance use. It is also possible that more time in self-care results in more unnoticed solitary trials of substances, as well as trials motivated by peer offers or peer pressure to use substances.