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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) health professionals working in the alcohol and other drugs field perform a complex role in tackling substance misuse and related harms. Professional training and development opportunities for these "frontline" Indigenous alcohol and other drugs staff is key to prevent burnout and to allow them to work to their full potential. However, there are many barriers for those seeking to improve their skills. A number of teaching approaches have been described as important, but we were unable to identify peer-reviewed publications that detail the optimal approach to tailor university learning to meet the needs of Indigenous alcohol and other drugs health professionals. This article reflects on the experience of providing one such programme: a graduate diploma in Indigenous health and substance use, designed and delivered specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mature-aged students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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People who use illicit drugs often experience stigma that manifests in systemic discrimination, marginalisation and social exclusion. Drug education, which is underpinned by the information model, and often includes fear-based tactics. Eleven focus groups were conducted with sixty-six young people (14-16 years old) in ten schools in Northern Ireland. These focus groups elicited an in-depth insight into young people's knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about drugs, drug users, and the drug education they receive in school. Interviews with fourteen teachers were undertaken to determine the content of the schools' drug education, limitations they faced in providing drug education and their attitudes towards people who use drugs. Findings included: teachers often used an information-based approach to drug education; often employing a 'shock-horror' approach in an attempt to deter young people from using drugs and becoming drug users, whom the teachers perceived as threatening, dangerous or sick. This type of drug education is ineffective, even counterproductive. Instead of enhancing young people's well-being, the current programme of school-based drug education contributes to the stigma of those who use drugs. This paper suggests ways this situation can be rectified. Recommendations include the application of a harm reduction as a more effective and pedagogically sound way of educating young people about drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In Australia, the burden of alcohol-attributable harm falls most heavily on young people. Prevention is important, and schools have long been seen as appropriate settings for pre-emptive interventions with this high risk group. This paper evaluates the effectiveness, in relation to alcohol harm prevention, of the Drug Education in Victorian Schools (DEVS) programme, nine months after implementation. This intervention dealt with both licit and illicit drugs, employed a harm minimisation approach that incorporated interactive, skill based, teaching methods and capitalised on parental influence through home activities. Methods: A cluster randomised, controlled trial of the first ten lessons of the DEVS drug education programme was conducted with year eight students, aged 13–14 years. Twenty-one secondary schools in Victoria, Australia were randomly allocated to receive the DEVS programme (14 schools, n =1163) or the drug education usually provided by their schools (7 schools, n =589). Self-reported changes were measured in relation to: knowledge and attitudes, communication with parents, drug education lessons remembered, proportion of drinkers, alcohol consumption (quantity multiplied by frequency), proportion of student drinkers engaging in risky consumption, and the number of harms experienced as a result of alcohol consumption. Results: In comparison to the controls, there was a significantly greater increase in the intervention students’ knowledge about drugs, including alcohol (p ≤0.001); there was a significant change in their level of communication with parents about alcohol (p =0.037); they recalled receiving significantly more alcohol education (p <0.001); their alcohol consumption increased significantly less (p =0.011); and they experienced a lesser increase in harms associated with their drinking (p ≤0.001). There were no significant differences between the two study groups in relation to changes in attitudes towards alcohol or in the proportion of drinkers or risky drinkers. There was, however, a notable trend of less consumption by risky drinkers in the intervention group. Conclusions: A comprehensive, harm minimisation focused school drug education programme is effective in increasing general drug knowledge, and reducing alcohol consumption and harm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article offers information on a study which explores the perception of students on illegal drugs and the importance of drug education.

The article offers information on a study conducted on the reliability and validity of the Adapted Coping Operations Preference Enquiry (COPE) Scale with deaf college students. It states that deaf adults feel isolated due to limitations in communication, sense of being different and missing information. It mentions that deaf individuals may be at a risk for abusing substances, due to educational difficulties, less social support and lack of correct drug education.

Throughout the scientific literature shows that studies evaluating the effectiveness of school-based substance abuse prevention programs have used a wide range of intervention agents. Nevertheless, in Spain, the school-based programs in daily practice, the vast majority, are applied only by regular classroom teachers of schools. In this regard, some research suggests that the variable type of applicator affects the effectiveness of school-based programs for drug prevention. This article presents a review of studies comparing the results obtained in the school-based programs when applied by regular classroom teachers to other external contributors. Taken together, the results of the reviewed studies are contradictory and, therefore, the evidence is not conclusive. However, it highlights the moderating role of the variable type of monitor on the effects of programs. Finally, it is recommended to lead studies to evaluate the specific characteristics or skills that must have an effective monitor as the training can contribute to its acquisition or improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Despite concerns regarding youth drug use and ‘standards’ of drugs education in British schools, little is known about young people''s routine experiences of drugs education at school, or schools’ other priorities, policies and practices relating to drugs. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with students aged 14–15 (N =50) and teachers (N =10) at four schools in England. We used thematic content analysis to explore: young people''s accounts of drugs education at secondary school and what they have learnt from this; and students’ and teachers’ accounts of schools’ wider policies and practices relating to drugs. Results: A recurring theme was that students reported having received little or no drugs education; the majority could not remember having had any at their secondary school. These students were not the ‘drugwise’ youth described in the normalisation thesis and young people wanted their school to provide them with more information. Teachers recognised that schools’ drugs policies were rarely implemented in practice and that drugs education was not a priority. Schools also appear to be adopting new strategies based on surveillance and targeting to control students’ drug use. In some cases referrals to a drugs counsellor were coercive and appeared to merely replace classroom-based drugs education. Conclusion: This study provides further evidence of the gap between drug policies and practice. It may be possible to increase the priority given to comprehensive drugs education and supportive drugs policies by modifying the incentive structures that schools work within. New targeted responses are unlikely to be effective at reducing drug-related harm at a population level because of the small number of students reached, and can be stigmatising. Further research is needed to explore schools’ focus on surveillance and targeted control rather than universal education, and to examine interventions that might ensure schools implement adequate drugs education. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Introduction: Although DSM-IV criteria are widely used in making diagnoses of substance use disorders, gaps exist regarding diagnosis classification, use of dependence criteria, and effects of measurement bias on diagnosis assessment. We examined the construct and measurement equivalence of diagnostic criteria for cocaine and opioid dependences, including whether each criterion maps onto the dependence construct, how well each criterion performs, how much information each contributes to a diagnosis, and whether symptom-endorsing is equivalent between demographic groups. Methods: Item response theory (IRT) and multiple indicators–multiple causes (MIMIC) modeling were performed on a sample of stimulant-using methadone maintenance patients enrolled in a multisite study of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) (N =383). Participants were recruited from six community-based methadone maintenance treatment programs associated with the CTN and major U.S. providers. Cocaine and opioid dependences were assessed by DSM-IV Checklist. Results: IRT modeling showed that symptoms of cocaine and opioid dependences, respectively, were arrayed along a continuum of severity. All symptoms had moderate to high discrimination in distinguishing drug users between severity levels. “Withdrawal” identified the most severe symptom of the cocaine dependence continuum. MIMIC modeling revealed some support for measurement equivalence. Conclusions: Study results suggest that self-reported symptoms of cocaine and opioid dependences and their underlying constructs can be measured appropriately among treatment-seeking polysubstance users. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to investigate if a school-based education and counseling program (Life Skills Training Program) would have an impact on school-aged children/adolescents' views of substance abuse. The study also investigated the degree and direction of change. Participants were 338 elementary or middle-school students in the metro Houston, Texas, area. Results indicated that preexisting views significantly differed from post-intervention views, and that the Life Skills Training Program provided participants with a more accurate view of substance abuse. Findings support formulated hypotheses and effectiveness of the Life Skills Training Program with the sampled population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues. Despite more than a decade of federal sponsorship of 'evidence-based' alcohol/drug education, there has been no consistent downward trend in overall prevalence among youth over the past 15 years. Reasons underlying this situation are examined. Approach. Published technical critiques of initial research supporting widely used evidence-based programs are reviewed along with replication studies conducted later by independent researchers not associated with initial program development. Social and institutional barriers in the US against changes in AOD policy and practice for young people are also suggested. Key Findings. Emerging use of diverted pharmaceuticals (now second to cannabis in prevalence) may underlie moderate recent decline in use of alcohol. Early federal certification standards for 'evidence based' prevention education have been seriously compromised. Technical critiques of initial evaluations and negative replication studies of these programs are consistent with lack of impact. Finally, fidelity of implementation in regular school settings is commonly flawed. Implications. Failure of these mainly pre-secondary educational programs may underlie recent federal support for forced random AOD testing of secondary school students. A new approach to drug education for adolescent students seems warranted as a positive alternative to personally intrusive surveillance. Conclusion. An interactive approach at the secondary school level that incorporates an age-appropriate educational process is proposed. While advising abstinence, this approach also facilitates identifying and assisting problematic AOD users. [Skager R. Replacing ineffective early alcohol/drug education in the United States with age-appropriate adolescent programmes and assistance to problematic users. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:577 - 584] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School drug education is seen by governments as an ideal prevention strategy because it offers the potential to stop use by the next generation. Australian schools expanded drug education substantially during the 1960s in response to rising use by young people, and in 1970 the first national drug education programme was launched. In the mid-1990s the level and quality of drug education increased noticeably. Unfortunately, subsequent national initiatives have failed to capitalise on the gains made during this period. Some good quality, independent research, such as the Gatehouse Project and the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP), has been conducted in Australia. However, national-level momentum is being lost, because there is little commitment to the development of evidence-based mass programmes. In this climate drug education has become vulnerable to short-term decision-making that emphasises palatable, policy-driven outcomes and focuses on strategies designed to bolster the legitimacy of these goals. So is Australia 'fair dinkum' about drug education in schools? There is a history of innovation, and past programmes have left behind pockets of expertise, but the challenge is to invest continuously in methods with evidence of success, rather than settle for cyclical programmes driven by the political and moral palliatives of the day. To do less is to fail the young people of Australia. [Midford R. Is Australia 'fair dinkum' about drug education in schools? Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:421 - 427] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses inquiry-based active learning and real-world relevance as means by which teachers can increase student involvement and interest in complex scientific concepts. He introduces a teaching module on the impact of drug abuse on the nervous system as a highly relevant topic for adolescents and a logical topic for teaching neuroscience, biology, psychology, health, chemistry, and math. Also, it has the added advantage of emphasizing the harmful effects of drug use.

The article focuses on drug abuse in the youths of Australia. Generally drug education is one instrument used by governments in schools to help limit the negative short and long- term affects of drug-use on the individuals and also the community at large. This article links the curriculum's content to the views shaped by ethical fear, which tries to inform that the drug use is solely an individual problem. It also examines some of the social aspects of one such program, the harm reduction approach of the drug education syllabus in New South Wales. choices. It places a deficit model by means of which the youth are constructed as incorrigibly unfit and inadequate in their understanding of drugs. The psychological empathetics of drug use focus on individual deficiencies and the establishment of healthy models. Though, the individualizing nature of drug education response neglects to take into the account the cultural, structural, and environmental factors of drug-use, the youth drug use exists within its own set of values, roles and interactions.

In a global project of self-determination and cultural revitalization, indigenous peoples are demanding recognition of distinct values, traditions and experiences in the design and delivery of health and social programs. Within the addictions field in southern Australia and northern Aotearoa/New Zealand, alternative approaches to education and training initiatives, informed by and inclusive of indigenous paradigms, are emerging in response to hegemonies of power, knowledge and practice. Questioning received understandings about the etiology and resolution of addictive behaviours, emergent discourses draw attention to the roles of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and cultural oppression in addiction and recovery. Moreover, although supported by social and virtual networks, emergent discourses are complicated-at times, fractured-by vigorous debate surrounding critical issues and complex identity positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the extent of awareness among practitioners of the importance of fidelity of implementation and the factors that inhibit or encourage it, interviews were conducted with nine individuals in each of the following groups: 1) researchers who have developed and evaluated prevention curricula; 2) publishers of drug abuse prevention curricula; 3) school administrators; 4) teachers, and 5) State Safe Drug Free Schools Coordinators. Interviews with leading researchers found there is inconsistency in definition as well as a lack of standard measures and methodology to investigate fidelity. All of the groups agreed that training was critically important to fidelity of implementation. Strategies for promoting fidelity of implementation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread belief that -illicit drugs are closely associated with crime has contributed to America's 'War on Drugs" and attendant increases in arrests, convictions, and prison populations. However, the links between alcohol and crime have received less attention from policy makers and the public despite consistent evidence that alcohol is more likely than other drugs to be associated with violence. This study explores the relationship between alcohol and cocaine use and crime from 1989-1998, based on findings from the Drug Use Forecasting! Arrestee Drug and Alcohol Monitoring Program and the Uniform Crime Reports Program. We examine correlations among cocaine use, alcohol use, property crime, and violent crime at the city level to determine if there is a consistent pattern across cities over time. The analyses show a wide variation across cities in the links between both alcohol and cocaine use and violent and property crime rates over the 10-year period. However, the association between the annual rates of alcohol use and violent crime is stronger than that of alcohol use and property crime. These associations for alcohol remain in multivariate analyses, including statistical controls for temporal autocorrelation, SES, and heroin use. Cocaine use, in contrast, is not closely associated with either property or violent crime rates in the multivariate analyses. The findings suggest that to reduce violent crime rates, policy makers need to focus on addressing the contribution of alcohol. Furthermore, given the variation found across sites, efforts to reduce the drug/alcohol-crime links need to be tailored to local patterns and problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an up-to-date systematic review of the school drug education literature (to June 2001) and identifies components that have the potential for creating effective drug education programmes in schools. This paper is a summary of a 150-page review. The review adopts a well-defined search methodology, specific selection criteria, and has made a series of recommendations based on the findings of past reviews and recent primary studies that met the selection criteria. The review is inclusive of reviews and recent primary studies that involved young people in school settings that encompassed a classroom intervention, included drug-related behavioural measures and had a positive impact on students' drug-related behaviours. The review identifies several areas that should be the focus of future programmes. These include timing and programming issues, content and delivery issues, teacher training, and dissemination. There is much refinement that can occur in school drug education implementation and research. The way forward is to continue to create and test interventions that bring together all components of the development, implementation and evaluation of school drug education that are effective in creating behaviour change, and that are practical to the school setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at the contribution of the education system of Australia on the issue of adolescent use of both legal and illegal drugs by providing a theoretical perspective on drug education. Beliefs that underpin early and contemporary models of drug education; Criticism on the models; Outline for possible future directions for drug education.

Abstract: In a community-based study of older women describing the prevalence of specific medication combinations, the risk of deleterious consequence from polymedicine was concentrated in a minority of older women. There were few prevalent medication combinations, and many of the more common combinations were unavoidable. These results suggest that broad, community-based drug education programs may be less effective than those targeting medical providers and multi-drug users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing profile of drug use has highlighted the need for age-appropriate education which requires insight into children's representations of drugs. Representations were elicited from 134 children aged between 5 and 11 yen, drawn from two schools, by asking them to draw and write their responses to questions relating to a story about losing and finding a bag of drugs. Relevant responses were generated by 119 children aged between 8 and 11 years. A content analysis of these responses revealed differences with school and age. Older children were more likely to recognize that drugs can be good or bad depending on type, quantity taken and reason for use. The children had firm ideas about who takes drugs and their motivations and were knowledgeable about methods of use. They recognized that drugs can be dangerous, but had little understanding of how or why. The children's representations were characterized by fear and uncertainty and most wanted to know more. These findings are used to argue that there is a need for child-centred constructivist approaches to drug education which seek to demystify drugs and drug use and to orientate children to the realities of the world of drugs in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elaborates a cultural framework for viewing alcohol and drug abuse which, if used as a teaching tool, can lead to increased cultural awareness among students. The framework helps educators to illustrate the powerful role of culture in shaping behaviors such as drinking and drug use and to focus on several cultures or ethnic groups simultaneously. The authors give examples of how the framework can be used to: discuss cases and clinical problems in the classroom; conduct classroom exercises comparing cultures and differences within cultures; structure student homework and paper assignments; and prepare course materials and lectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in illegal drug usage, particularly among young people, in the United Kingdom since the early 1980s is discussed in the context of a government White Paper (i.e. a government document often outlining possible subsequent legislation, prepared for public consumption). This publication, Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain (1998, London, The Stationery Office), argued that education had an important role to play in drug prevention. The paper points out that there is little in the literature on drug usage that relates to the work of educators in drugs education and that the subject is not a compulsory part of initial teacher education programmes in the UK. This paper, therefore, considers it important to discuss drugs education in the context of teacher education as well as in the work of teachers and other professional groups responsible for drugs education. The paper has, perforce, an English focus in view of regional differences within and beyond the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the antecedent probability problem related to the drug-education campaigns. When drug abuse is being considered, the problems of antecedent probability seem particularly acute. Reliable statistical information on the prevalence of drug use amongst young people in various parts of the Great Britain is very limited. In some cases, the problem is more complicated as the campaigns are not always aimed at the users. The dangers of striking non-targeted users should not be underestimated.

The article presents abstracts of several papers related to college sports that were discussed at the Sixty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the American College Health Association held from May 29-June 2, 1990 in San Antonio, Texas. They include "Legal Issues Involved in a Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Program," "Management and Medicine: Issues in Conflict and Cooperation," "Motivation and Retention of Clinical Support Staff: A Development Approach," "Providing Care for Dependent Children of Students at Student Health Service," and "A Staff Development Program: Morale Building, Team Building, and Direction Setting."

The premise of this paper is that the drug war cannot be won without the public's full commitment. Based on a random sample of households (a 532) in Belize City. public attitudes are analyzed to assess the degree of support foe drag enforcement. The findings show strong support for drug education as well as for increasing criminal sanctions and the size of the police force. Support fades, however, as drug enforcement is militarized. The significant determinants of public support are education, gender, attitudes toward the police, fear of property crime, and neighborhood come prevalence. The paper closes by offering two concrete ways to build public support for drug enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative drug information and rap program on a Big 10 campus, privately funded for one year, provides elements that may, with variations, be adopted for other campus drug programs. This article proposes a policy and evaluates peer counselors, a library, professional referring, use of films, and services in dorms and in classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article indicates that for a general population of students drug education via the news media was most effective and most influential. It was the source from which over 50 per cent of the students learned most about drugs and also the source to which almost 50 per cent attributed their decision that marihuana was harmful. The other sources such as family, friends, or school and church played only a minor role. Another important finding of the study, especially in Toronto, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia was that the influence of the source is heavily dependent on the inclination of the student to use drugs. Those students who do not use drugs rely on the news media. But drug users rely on their own experience or on friends. This suggests that the purposes and target population of drug education must be clearly defined. If the goals are mainly preventive, drug education will be directed at those students who have not yet used drugs. If the goal of the program is primarily to bring a halt to present drug experimentation, then the target population is the drug users. Nonusers can best be reached through news media, and drug users through more personal contacts. The reasons for the discrepancies in the Montreal data are not known. Cultural factors may have been involved.

The article discusses approaches in school-based drug education. Personal, Social and Health and Economic (PSHE) education is a planned programme of learning opportunities and experiences that provides information and develops knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable young people to make choices. The behavioural model is based on the premise that people change their behaviour in response to stimulus, while normative education model sees behaviour as also determined by attitudes and intentions.

This report considers seven kinds of adverse results from drug education with illustrations. The authors emphasize the need for prospective studies of the effects of education on drug use and abuse, Including adverse as well as desired effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectiveness of the Preventive Dimensions Program, a K--12 Utah plan for safe and drug-free schools, was assessed among 150 sixth-grade students. Participants' knowledge about drug use increased, as did all children's intent to use marijuana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]