Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118159

Carl Lee Hanson, PhD, CHES, College of Allied Health Professions, Montana State University - Billings, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT 59101, (406) 657-2395, Chanson@msubillings.edu and Michael Havens, PhD, Department of Psychology, Montana State University-Billings, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT 59101.

Previous research has suggested a disparity in substance abuse among youth living in rural and urban settings. The purpose of this study was to compare the 30-day prevalence of alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and other elicit drug use among rural, urban and metro 8-12 grade students (N = 59,681) from 2000 to 2004. To accomplish this purpose, a secondary analysis of the 2000, 2002, and 2004 Montana Prevention Needs Assessment was conducted. In an effort to control for sampling error, a random sample of students was selected from rural (n=200), urban (n=200) and metro (n=200) counties each year for inclusion in the study. Thirty-day prevalence for drug use was analyzed for trends. Rural, urban, and metro differences were evaluated using Chi-square statistic. Results indicated that marijuana use nearly doubled over the four year period for students living in metro counties while smokeless tobacco use nearly doubled for students living in rural counties. Significant differences (p<.05) in 30-day prevalence were observed between rural, urban and metro counties for both marijuana and smokeless tobacco use. These findings suggest a disparity between rural, urban and metro youth substance abusers as well as the need for targeted substance abuse prevention efforts.

Learning Objectives: Following this session participants will

• explain the difference between rural, urban and metro substance abuse among adolescents
• apply understanding of rural, urban, and metro substance abuse to school and community prevention efforts

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Substance Abuse Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.