NCJ Number
126400
Journal
Journal of Drug Education Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (1990) Pages: 235-245
Date Published
1990
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The Marihuana Perception Inventory was administered to 617 high school students before and after they had completed a class on substance abuse to determine the relationship between demographic factors and perceptions about marihuana and to learn if drug prevention instruction was related to changes in student perceptions of those relationships.
Abstract
Factor analysis revealed a 5-factor solution, with all 34 items included. The scales were very stable across demographic characteristics: Maturational Difficulties, Excessive Pressure, Parental Failings, Rebelliousness, and Societal and Institutional Weaknesses. After substance abuse instruction, students were more likely to cite Parental Failings as a reason to begin using marihuana, and they saw less of a relationship between marihuana use and Maturational Difficulties, Excessive Pressure, and Societal and Institutional Weaknesses. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 28 references