Drug Abuse Prevention

Research Findings from September, 2003 Director's Report

This section lists selected summaries from NIDA funded research projects that investigate youth drug abuse prevention. The summaries provided were selected from recent issues of the Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. For a more comprehensive listing of NIDA funded projects see the Director's Report.

Home Intervention for Mothers and their Drug-Exposed Infants

This longitudinal randomized cohort study assessed the effects of a home intervention and ongoing maternal drug use on developmental outcomes of drug-exposed infants. Participants included 108 low-income, inner-city, drug-exposed children and their biological mothers (control, 54; intervention, 54). Results suggest that, compared to control infants, intervention infants had significantly higher Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) Mental Development Index (MDI), and BSID Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) scores during the first 18 months post partum. Furthermore, ongoing maternal drug use was associated with worse developmental outcomes for both groups. Schuler, M.E., Nair, P., and Kettinger, L. Drug Exposed Infants and Developmental Outcome: Effects of a Home Intervention and Ongoing Maternal Drug Use. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157, pp. 133-138, 2003.

Student Drug Testing and Rates of Illicit Drug Use

Investigators at the University of Michigan conducted a study of the association between school drug testing practices and rates of drug use. They combined data from the 1998 through 2001 Monitoring the Future surveys, yielding a base of around 30,000 8th grade students in 260 schools, 23,000 10th grade students in 227 high schools, and 23,000 12th grade students in 235 high schools from across the nation. School drug testing policies and practices were determined from questionnaires administered to school administrators, and student drug use was ascertained from self-administered questionnaires. At each grade level studied, the investigators found virtually identical rates of drug use in the schools that have drug testing and the schools that do not. For example, in 12th grade, 36% of those in non-testing schools reported having used marijuana in the twelve months prior to the survey, versus 37% in the schools that did test. Additional analyses showed that in high schools that tested athletes, marijuana and other drug use by male athletes was not significantly different from use among male athletes in the great majority of high schools that do not test their athletes. The authors acknowledge that with only cross-sectional data they could not make definitive causal interpretations regarding the effects of drug testing; it is conceivable, for example, that the schools that instituted drug testing initially had higher use, and that drug testing reduced those levels. While the results are not conclusive, they indicate a lack of evidence for a preventive effect from student drug testing as it is commonly practiced. Yamaguchi, R., Johnston, L.D., and O'Malley, P.M. The Relationship Between Student Illicit Drug Use and School Drug-Testing Policies. Journal of School Health, 73(4), pp. 159-164, 2003.

Limited Transfer of Research to Practice in School-based Substance Use Prevention

This study compared current substance use prevention practices in schools against standards of evidence-based prevention strategies for "effective content" and "effective delivery." Respondents were lead school staff that taught substance use prevention from 1998-1999 in a national sample of public and private schools that included middle school grades (N=1,795). Results indicate that most providers (62.25%) taught effective content, but few used effective delivery (17.44%), and fewer still used both effective content and delivery (14.23%). Those who taught evidence-based programs (e.g., Life Skills Training, Project ALERT), however, were more likely to implement both effective content and delivery, as were those teachers who were recently trained in substance use prevention and were comfortable using interactive teaching methods. These findings indicate that in the past, transfer of research knowledge to practice about school-based substance use prevention programming has been limited. Ennett, S.T., Ringwalt, C.L., Thorne, J., Rohrbach, L.A., Vincus, A., Simons-Rudolph, A., and Jones, S. A Comparison of Current Practice in School-Based Substance Use Prevention Programs with Meta-analytic Findings. Prevention Science, 4(1), pp. 1-14, 2003

Life Skills Training Program Outcomes in a Rural, Midwest Youth Population

The purpose of this study is to extend earlier research by evaluating the effect of the Life Skills Training (LST) school-based preventive intervention on substance initiation and two related constructs, expectancies and refusal intentions, in a rural, Midwestern sample. The 15-session LST program (which is based on social cognitive/learning theory and problem behavior theory) was implemented during classroom periods by trained teachers using interactive teaching techniques. All seventh-grade students in 24 participating schools were recruited for participation in the study, and a total of 847 students were included in the growth curve analysis. The pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments were conducted during the fall of the seventh grade, the spring of seventh grade, and the spring of eighth grade, respectively. The intervention significantly slowed the rate of increase in substance initiation and significantly slowed the rate of decrease in refusal intentions in both males and females. Notably, a stronger intervention effect was detected for females with regard to the rate of decrease in refusal intentions. Trudeau, L., Spoth, R., Lillehoj, C., Redmond, C., and Wickrama, K.A.S. Effects of a Preventive Intervention on Adolescent Substance Initiation, Expectancies, and Refusal Intentions. Prevention Science, 4(2), pp. 109-122, 2003.

Communication of Prevention Program Requirements to School Program Implementers

The Department of Education promulgated the "Principles of Effectiveness" and required school districts that received support from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community initiative to: 1) base drug and violence prevention programming on needs assessment data; 2) develop measurable program goals and objectives; 3) implement programs for which there is research evidence of effectiveness, and 4) periodically evaluate programs relative to their goals and objectives. This paper reports on the extent of national awareness of these Principles of Effectiveness, and plans for their implementation among public school districts and schools in the year following their announcement. Results of a mail survey of a national sample of public and private schools' lead staff who taught substance use prevention in the 1998-1999 school year (n=1,795) showed that baseline levels of awareness for these requirements were low in both school districts and schools. Results also suggest the need for greater communication about the principles to school districts and, in turn, the need for greater communication between district and school-levels substance use prevention staff to produce better adherence to these principles. Simons-Rudolph, A.P., Ennett, S.T., Ringwalt, C.L., Rohrbach, L.A., and Vincus, A.A. The Principles of Effectiveness: Early Awareness and Plans for Implementation in a National Sample of Public Schools and Their Districts. Journal of School Health, 73, pp. 181-185, 2003.

Review of the Communities That Care Youth Survey

Risk and protective factors predictive of adolescent problem behaviors such as substance abuse and delinquency are promising targets for preventive intervention. Community planners should assess and target risk and protective factors when designing prevention programs. This paper describes the development, reliability and validity of a self-report survey designed for adolescents 11 to 18 that measures an array of risk and protective factors across multiple ecological domains as well as adolescent problem behaviors. This instrument can be used to assess the epidemiology of risk and protection in youth populations and to prioritize specific risk and protective factors in specific populations as targets for preventive interventions. Arthur, M.W., Hawkins, J.D., Pollard, J.A., Catalano, R.F., and Baglioni, A.J. Measuring Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use, Delinquency, and Other Adolescent Problem Behaviors: The Communities That Care Youth Survey. Evaluation Review, 26(6), pp. 575-601, 2002.