NCJ Number
215202
Journal
Journal of Drug Education Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: 2005 Pages: 167-184
Date Published
2005
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined students’ perceptions of random drug testing for students participating in after-school activities.
Abstract
Forty-five percent of the students participating in the study experimented with drugs and almost 75 percent experimented with alcohol. Self-report data suggest that middle school students’ age of first experimentation with drinking and/or experimenting with drugs began at an earlier age than high school students. Students’ attitudes toward drug testing indicated most students would not stop participating in after-school activities if drug testing were required. However, most students reported all members of the school system should be tested for drugs. Students reporting frequent alcohol or drug use are least likely to endorse drug testing as a means to control drug use in schools. There was significantly less frequent drug use among those participating in after-school activities (11 percent) compared to drug users not participating in after-school activities (19 percent). This study investigated students’ perceptions of drug testing in their schools and whether instituting such testing would affect their willingness to participate in after-school activities. The study consisted of 576 students, 294 males and 282 females, from 3 schools in a rural northwestern area. Tables, references