The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the progression of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among a cohort of 6th grade inner-city middle school youth. Subjects consisted of 650 youth from one neighborhood (n=262) and one magnet (bused) urban school (n=388) that completed a pre-test, one-year post-test, and two- and three-year follow-ups as part of a prevention study. Preliminary results indicate differences between the two types of schools on lifetime and current use measures of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. More specifically, increases in alcohol use preceded tobacco and marijuana use in the magnet school, with lifetime alcohol use increasing during the 6th grade and cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana lifetime use increasing during the 7th grade. Neighborhood school students showed an increase in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana lifetime use during the 7th grade. Using a repeated measures ANOVA , there was a significant increase (p<.05) in current alcohol use during the 7th grade at the magnet school. Also, a significant increase (p<.05) was found in current cigarette use throughout 6th-7th grade at the magnet school. No significant increases were found on current use of substances for the neighborhood school. Implications of these findings for the timing of programming efforts and targeting of certain substances in future school-based prevention programs will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: 1) Describe the importance of the timing of programming efforts. 2) Assess the need for targeting certain substances in middle school prevention efforts. 3) Identify implications of the findings for future health education programs
Keywords: Adolescents, Health Education
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.