NCJ Number
230055
Date Published
November 2009
Length
329 pages
Annotation
This volume presents drug-use data for the 1977-2008 follow-up surveys of the graduating high school classes of 1976-2007 who completed the Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey, so as to determine trajectories of drug use beyond high school into adulthood (through age 50 for the oldest respondents).
Abstract
The summary indicates that for more than a decade, from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, the use of a number of illicit drugs declined appreciably among 12th-grade students, and declined even more among American colleges students and young adult. These substantial reductions in drug use are attributed to changes in attitudes about drug use, beliefs about the risks of drug use, and peer norms against drug use. A clear indication from these findings is that substance-using behaviors among American youth can be changed, since demand-side, rather than supply-side factors have been pivotal in achieving most of these changes. This report concludes, however, that this does not mean that this trend will continue. The drug problem is a recurring and relapsing problem that must be continually addressed, as new generations must relearn the dangers and harms of traditional drugs as well as new drugs. Data are reported for various age groups and gender for various types of drugs. MTF incorporates several types of surveys into one study, producing analytical power beyond the sum of the component parts. The components include cross-sectional studies, repeated cross-sectional studies, and panel studies of particular cohorts. The annual cross-sectional studies provide point estimates of various behaviors and conditions at any given year for a number of subpopulations. Repeating these cross-sectional studies over time allows an assessment of change across years in those same segments of the population. The panel-study permits the examination of change over time in the same individuals comprising a class cohort. Extensive tables and figures