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

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends for almost a decade of self report drug survey data collected from high school students. Four large-scale surveys were conducted at three-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 fourteen categories of drugs are presented. Sex differences in drug use and perceived harmfulness are reported. The most recent survey questionnaire in 1986 also included several questions about smokeless tobacco use. It is important for researchers to be continuously vigilant in the assessment of 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 is essential in providing “benchmark” guides for the interpretation of single survey results [1]. Wolford and Swisher have indicated that knowledge of trends is useful in planning and developing drug programs [2].

Boredom proneness: Its relationship to psychological- and physical-health symptoms

“…Finally, our finding that high boredom-proneness scores are related to greater somatization complaints adds empirical support to previous work that reported negative associations between boredom and eating behaviors (e.g., Martin, 1989;Pascale & Sylvester, 1988) and physical-health symptoms (e.g., Ferguson, 1973;Smith et al, 1981). It should be noted, however, that this prior work did not assess boredom levels using psychometrically sound instrumentation.…”

“…Limited work, however, has been devoted to investigating the association between boredom and psychological-and physical-health symptoms. Evidence for such a relationship can be inferred from studies reporting significant, positive correlations between boredom and substance abuse and eating disorders (e.g., Abramson & Stinson, 1977;Ganley, 1989;Johnston & O'Malley, 1986;Martin, 1989;Pascale & Sylvester, 1988). Other researchers have established a connection between boredom and detrimental health effects in organizational settings.…”

Can Google Searches Predict the Popularity and Harm of Psychoactive Agents?

“…Certain reports concluded that when drugs were used sporadically, cognitive functions were largely unaffected [ 9 ], while others showed that people who overuse such agents did not realize how harmful they were [ 10 ]. It was also confirmed that a method for responding to trends in drug use may be established based on multiyear studies [ 11 ]. Relevant books provide information not only about trends in drug use [ 12 ], but also about groups of people with a higher tendency to use drugs (by sex, age, or plans for the future) [ 13 ].…”