The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70435

Vinitha Meyyur, PhD, SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20852, 301-468-2600 Extn:5034, vmeyyur@health.org

As reported in the 2001 National Household Survey on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NHSDA), among youths aged 12 to 17 years, an estimated 17.3 percent used alcohol,13 percent used cigarettes and 10.8 percent used any illicit drug in the past month. The reasons for drug use among adolescents have been attributed to numerous risk and protective factors. These factors have also been delineated into individual, family, school and community based factors. The current research focuses on determining the association between adolescents’ involvement with school, parents and the community on past month alcohol, cigarette and marijuana consumption. Data from the National Household Survey on Alcohol and Drug Abuse 2001 is being analyzed. Variables contributing to involvement with school include: past year school attendance, overall feeling about going to school, how often they felt school work was meaningful, how interesting courses were at school, grades in school, and teachers' feedback on performance. Variables contributing to involvement with parents include: parents providing help with homework, parents checking homework, parents limiting television time, parents limiting time with friends, and talking with parents about danger of drug/alcohol. Variables contributing to community programs include: participation in a communication/self-esteem program, participation in alcohol prevention programs, participation in faith-based programs, and exposure to prevention messages outside school.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives:
• Recognize the need to explore family, school and community factors with regard to alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use among adolescents
• Prioritize the factors that are important for each of the drug categories
• Design interventions that target factors associated with increased drug use

Keywords: Adolescent Health,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.