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Many adolescents experiment with marijuana; the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 46% of high school seniors have tried this drug at some time. Pushing boundaries is what young people do, and some researchers believe that trying marijuana is a normal part of growing up. RAND Corporation researchers have revisited Shedler and Block's 1990 study, "Adolescent Drug Use and Psychological Health: A Longitudinal Inquiry," that suggested that adolescents who experimented with marijuana were better adjusted emotionally and socially than there counterparts who avoided all drugs. RAND evidence challenges those findings, finding that youth who abstained from marijuana through the last year of high school were not socially or emotionally troubled, and had better outcomes as young adults. Findings also indicate that solitary substance use is not uncommon among youth, but that young solitary users are an overlooked at-risk group who face a range of psychosocial and behavioral difficulties as teens and young adults. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This Highlight summarizes RAND Health research reported in the following publications: (1) Tucker JS, Ellickson PL, Collins RL, and Klein DJ, "Are Drug Experimenters Better Adjusted Than Abstainers and Users? A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Marijuana Use," Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2006, pp. 488-494; and (2) Tucker JS, Ellickson PL, Collins RL, and Klein DJ, "Does Solitary Substance Use Increase Adolescents' Risk for Poor Psychosocial and Behavioral Outcomes? A 9-Year Longitudinal Study Comparing Solitary and Social Users," Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2006, pp. 363-372.]

This study analyzed issues related to estimating indirect medical education costs specific to pediatric discharges. The Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGNE) program was established to support graduate medical education in children's hospitals. This provision authorizes payments for both direct and indirect medical education costs, which must be estimated. The study used multivariate regression analysis to investigate the effect of residency training programs on pediatric costs per discharge using different measures of teaching intensity, including residents-to-beds and residents-to-average daily census. The study used coefficients from regressions to establish potential allocation formulas for indirect medical education funds that could be used by the CHGME program in lieu of the Medicare formula. An appendix contains a table of cost comparisons. (Contains 17 tables, 1 figure, and 23 references.) (SLD)

This fact sheet summarizes a study that examined how schools in the U.S. Gulf Coast region perceived the mental health needs of students after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how schools responded. According to the report, despite strong initial efforts to support the mental health needs of students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many schools have not been able to fulfill students' mental health needs over the long term. Cited barriers include: (1) Problems communicating with parents; (2) Administrative pressure to "get back to normal" and focus on academics; (3) Inadequate resources and insufficient staff training; (4) Burnout among staff in charge of implementing and running the programs; and (5) Difficulties balancing the needs of displaced students with the continuing needs of pre-existing students. [This fact sheet is based on: Jaycox LH, Tanielian TL, Sharma P, Morse L, Clum G, and Stein BD, "Schools' Mental Health Responses After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," Psychiatric Services, Vol. 58, No. 10, October 2007, pp. 1339-1343.]