Yet another paper
Terry Legg
Adolescent Psych
The Use of Illegal Substances Among High School Age Adolescents
Just about everyone experiments with one kind of substance during their high school careers. In middle school, we are all taught of the dangers associated with substance use, but many of us try to use them anyway. Knowing the dangers and almost certain negative consequences, why do high school students still choose to risk the use of such substances? Choosing to partake in an action that defies logic and prior knowledge is very interesting.
Kristin E.Voelkl and Michael Frone performed a study on the prevalence and precursors of adolescents using alcohol and other drugs during their high school years while on school campus. They looked at demographic, personality, academic, and substance use expectancy predictors among high school students, the majority of which were in the age ranged from 16 to 18 years of age. They found that there were a number of important effects relevant to personal predisposition variables, however an interesting find during their study was that a lot of these associations were limited by the perceived opportunity to use marijuana and/or alcohol while on school grounds (). They did find variation between sexes in some of their findings.
Michael D. Newcomb, Chih-Ping Chou, P. M. Bentler, and G. J. Huba examined the cognitive motivations for the usage of cannabis and alcohol amongst adolescents in the age range of 13 to 18 years old. They found that there were four factors reflect 15 different reasons for drug use: Reduced negative affect, addiction, enhanced positive affect and creativity, and social cohesion (). These motivations had differences in prevalence between males and females. They came to the conclusion that self reported reasons behind the use of drugs are important etiological factors when trying to understand actual drug-use behavior ().
Alan Stacy, Elisha Galaif, Steve Sussman, and Clyde Dent studied the perceived outcomes of drug use among high-risk adolescents. They compared the class of the drugs that were being taken with the possible perceived outcome of using them as reported by the subjects themselves. “Regressions revealed that self-generated responses were not predicted by ethnicity, gender, or previous drug use (Dent, et al).” In their conclusion they state that the frequency of categories and self-generated drug outcomes analysis is rarely used in current drug research, but their study has shown that this information is relevant to cognitive approaches to drug abuse.
These studies provide insight as to the complex cognitive and behavioral factors inherent in the decision made by adolescents to experiment with substances that are illegal to them. All of the studies acknowledge that there are social and/or personal reasons or motivations that influence substance use behavior. They also point to differences between genders in the reporting process, indicating that the influences and reasons for using illegal substances differ among men and women.
Some remaining questions that would help complete our understanding of the complexity and effects of drugs on adolescent students are as follows: Do high school students use drugs more during normal hours of operation of schools, or at extracurricular activities? How does the exposure to other students that use drugs at school effect the academic achievement of those that do not? What has a more negative effect, drug use as a means of social cohesion, because of addiction, or used for the reduction of negative affect? How reliable are the results of the surveys used? Do some students report falsely about the use or presence of drug use in their environment?
I plan to pursue the question of the reliability of information gathered on the prevalence of drug use within school settings in my research proposal. I will investigate the willingness of students to truthfully disclose sensitive information through either personal interviews or anonymous surveys.
Works Cited
Bentler, P., Chou, C., Huba, G., & Newcomb, M (1988). Cognitive Motivations for Drug Use Among Adolescents: Longitudinal Tests of Gender Differences and Predictors of Change in Drug Use. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35(4), 426-438.
Dent, C., Galaif, E., Stacy, A., & Sussman, S. (1996). Self-Generated Drug Outcomes in High-Risk Adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 10(1), 18-27.
Frone, M., & Voelkl, K. (2000). Predictors of Substance Use at School Among High School Students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), 583-592.
Adolescent Psych
The Use of Illegal Substances Among High School Age Adolescents
Just about everyone experiments with one kind of substance during their high school careers. In middle school, we are all taught of the dangers associated with substance use, but many of us try to use them anyway. Knowing the dangers and almost certain negative consequences, why do high school students still choose to risk the use of such substances? Choosing to partake in an action that defies logic and prior knowledge is very interesting.
Kristin E.Voelkl and Michael Frone performed a study on the prevalence and precursors of adolescents using alcohol and other drugs during their high school years while on school campus. They looked at demographic, personality, academic, and substance use expectancy predictors among high school students, the majority of which were in the age ranged from 16 to 18 years of age. They found that there were a number of important effects relevant to personal predisposition variables, however an interesting find during their study was that a lot of these associations were limited by the perceived opportunity to use marijuana and/or alcohol while on school grounds (). They did find variation between sexes in some of their findings.
Michael D. Newcomb, Chih-Ping Chou, P. M. Bentler, and G. J. Huba examined the cognitive motivations for the usage of cannabis and alcohol amongst adolescents in the age range of 13 to 18 years old. They found that there were four factors reflect 15 different reasons for drug use: Reduced negative affect, addiction, enhanced positive affect and creativity, and social cohesion (). These motivations had differences in prevalence between males and females. They came to the conclusion that self reported reasons behind the use of drugs are important etiological factors when trying to understand actual drug-use behavior ().
Alan Stacy, Elisha Galaif, Steve Sussman, and Clyde Dent studied the perceived outcomes of drug use among high-risk adolescents. They compared the class of the drugs that were being taken with the possible perceived outcome of using them as reported by the subjects themselves. “Regressions revealed that self-generated responses were not predicted by ethnicity, gender, or previous drug use (Dent, et al).” In their conclusion they state that the frequency of categories and self-generated drug outcomes analysis is rarely used in current drug research, but their study has shown that this information is relevant to cognitive approaches to drug abuse.
These studies provide insight as to the complex cognitive and behavioral factors inherent in the decision made by adolescents to experiment with substances that are illegal to them. All of the studies acknowledge that there are social and/or personal reasons or motivations that influence substance use behavior. They also point to differences between genders in the reporting process, indicating that the influences and reasons for using illegal substances differ among men and women.
Some remaining questions that would help complete our understanding of the complexity and effects of drugs on adolescent students are as follows: Do high school students use drugs more during normal hours of operation of schools, or at extracurricular activities? How does the exposure to other students that use drugs at school effect the academic achievement of those that do not? What has a more negative effect, drug use as a means of social cohesion, because of addiction, or used for the reduction of negative affect? How reliable are the results of the surveys used? Do some students report falsely about the use or presence of drug use in their environment?
I plan to pursue the question of the reliability of information gathered on the prevalence of drug use within school settings in my research proposal. I will investigate the willingness of students to truthfully disclose sensitive information through either personal interviews or anonymous surveys.
Works Cited
Bentler, P., Chou, C., Huba, G., & Newcomb, M (1988). Cognitive Motivations for Drug Use Among Adolescents: Longitudinal Tests of Gender Differences and Predictors of Change in Drug Use. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35(4), 426-438.
Dent, C., Galaif, E., Stacy, A., & Sussman, S. (1996). Self-Generated Drug Outcomes in High-Risk Adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 10(1), 18-27.
Frone, M., & Voelkl, K. (2000). Predictors of Substance Use at School Among High School Students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), 583-592.