U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Trend Analyses of Four Large-Scale Surveys of High School Drug Use 1977-1986

NCJ Number
118006
Journal
Journal of Drug Education Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (1988) Pages: 221-233
Author(s)
P J Pascale; J Sylvester
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed trends for almost a decade of self-report drug survey data collected from high school students.
Abstract
Four large-scale surveys were conducted at 3-year intervals beginning in 1977. The four cohort samples consisted of eleventh grade students from area high schools in Northeast Ohio. Frequency of usage, reason for taking drugs, and perceived harmfulness of 14 categories of drugs are presented. Sex differences in drug use and perceived harmfulness are reported. It is important for researchers to be continuously vigilant in assessing the drug abuse problem since intervention and prevention strategies follow closely the sociodynamics of age, sex, knowledge of health risk factors, type of drug being used, and reason for taking drugs. The collection of trend data provides "benchmark" guides for interpreting single survey results. Wolford and Swisher have indicated that knowledge of trends is useful in planning and developing drug programs. (Author abstract modified)

Downloads

No download available

Availability