Drug Education and Drug Use Decline: An Assessment of Trends From 1976-1984

• NCJ Number: 157832
• Author(s): C R Tieman; W L Tolone; L Zuelke
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 30 pages
• Sale Source: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, San Francisco, California, November 1991.

Annotation

This study examined the impact of drug education on drug use and analyzed the perceived value of drug education and the extent to which drug education influenced interest in drug use.

Abstract

Three hypotheses were tested: (1) drug education was positively related to the perceived value of drug education; (2) drug education was inversely related to interest in trying drugs; and (3) drug education was inversely related to drug use. The study sample included a nationally representative group of high school seniors. The analysis focused on the 9 years between 1976 and 1984, and approximately 30,000 seniors responded to the questionnaire. Drug education was measured in terms of drug education courses or lectures in school and any other drug education experiences. Findings revealed moderate support for the first hypothesis, less support for the second hypothesis, and hardly any support for the third hypothesis. Study limitations are noted in light of the less than encouraging results on drug- related attitudes and self-report drug use. 20 references and 16 tables