NCJ Number
201072
Date Published
2002
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s 2002 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study which tracks the attitudes of teens regarding illegal drugs and assists in the development of effective advertisement to unsell drugs to consumers.
Abstract
As part of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s (PDFA) contribution to the field of substance abuse prevention, the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) was developed in 1987. This annual study tracks the elaborate and complex attitudes consumers have about illegal drugs. The study helps in developing advertising designed to deter the use of drugs by the consumer. PATS consists of two nationally projectable samples, a teen sample (grades 7 through 12) and a parent sample. This report consists of data collected from April through June 2002 with adolescents completing self-administered questionnaires. Results indicate: (1) that more teens in 2002 than in 2001 felt there was a great risk in trying Ecstasy; (2) a continuation of a decline in past year and past month inhalant abuse; (3) significant declines in adolescent use of LSD and methamphetamine; (4) adolescent use of cocaine/crack, heroin, GHB, and ketamine remained steady versus previous years; (5) 20 percent of the teens reported abuse of prescription painkillers and about 1 in 10 reported abuse of Ritalin or Adderall without a doctor’s prescription. The data show a clear correlation between frequent exposure to anti-drug ads and both higher perception of risk in drug use and lower rates of drug trial than teens reporting infrequent exposure to this type of advertising. Tables and graphs