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Narcotization, being a complex phenomenon involving various spheres, can be overcome only by a set of measures – from criminal and law measures to social ones. Modern media directly or indirectly contribute to the formation of a liberal attitude to the problem of drug addiction. In these circumstances, a special role is given to social advertising, to its preventive function. Adequate social advertising, which can become a powerful preventive anti-drug resource, should be opposed to mass involvement of young people into the sphere of drug abuse and distribution. Preventive social advertising is constructive in its essence, as it is aimed at the formation of such attitudes and personality traits, in which drugs are not understood as value. The methodological basis of this investigation is the unity of the general, psycholinguistic, linguistic and law methods. The whole range of facts observed in the discourse – lexical units and grammatical forms, which provides social advertising is the subject of the study. The analysis is conducted at different levels – at the macro- and microlevel. A comprehensive approach to the phenomenon of social advertising, dedicated to drug prevention demanded the usage of speech activity, the theory of speech acts, support on ideas and methods of cognitive science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study seeks to understand how parents as prevention agents approach substance use prevention messages during the period of early adolescence. Students (N = 410) in a drug prevention trial completed surveys from 7th to 9th grade. Using longitudinal data, a series of latent transition analyses was conducted to identify major trends of parent–adolescent drug talk styles (i.e., never talked, situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, and ongoing indirect) in control and treatment conditions. Findings demonstrate a developmental trend in drug talk styles toward a situated style of talk as youth transitioned from 7th grade to 9th grade. Findings also show that even though the drug prevention trial did not specifically target parental communication, parents in the treatment condition provide more ongoing substance use prevention messages to their adolescent children than do parents in the control condition. The present study discusses relevant developmental issues, potential intervention effects, and future research directions for communication research in substance use prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the relationships among adolescent reports of parent–adolescent drug talk styles, family communication environments (e.g., expressiveness, structural traditionalism, and conflict avoidance), and adolescent substance use. ANCOVAs revealed that the 9th grade adolescents (N = 718) engaged in four styles of "drug talks" with parents (e.g., situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, and ongoing indirect style) and these styles differed in their effect on adolescent substance use. Multiple regression analyses showed that expressiveness and structural traditionalism were negatively related to adolescent substance use, whereas conflict avoidance was positively associated with substance use. When controlling for family communication environments and gender, adolescents with an ongoing indirect style reported the lowest use of substance. The findings suggest implications and future directions for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the predictions of the ordered protection motivation model (OPM), the authors examined 371 adolescents' reactions to physical and social threat appeals in drug prevention public service announcements. Sensation seeking was also included in the experiment and analysis. In support of the notion that the social implications of a response to a threat message influence the message's effectiveness, social threat communications were more persuasive than physical threat communications. Sensation seeking emerged as an important variable moderating response to threat communications, supporting the argument that responses may be due to factors other than the communication itself in contrast to the argument that fear arousal is a prerequisite for effective response to threat messages, the authors found fear arousal unnecessary for persuasion to occur. The implications of the findings for the effectiveness of public service announcements are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends a typology of parent–offspring drug talk styles to early adolescents and investigates associations with adolescent substance use. Data come from a self-report survey associated with a school-based, 7th grade drug prevention curriculum. Mixed methods were used to collect data across four measurement occasions spanning 30 months. Findings highlight the frequencies of various drug-talk styles over time (i.e., situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, ongoing indirect, never talked), messages adolescents hear from parents, and comparisons of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use by drug-talk style. This study advances an understanding of parent–adolescent communication about substances and holds practical implications for drug prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although weak social bonds are found to be associated with addictive behaviors in cross-sectional studies, few studies have explored the longitudinal impacts of social bonds on nonmedical prescription drug use (NPDU). This study adopted a developmental perspective on social bonds and tested how their different trajectories are associated with NPDU among adults. With panel surveys from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health from 1994 to 2008, this study employed group-based latent trajectory modeling to obtain the different trajectories of social bonds including religious, civic, familial, educational, and marital, and then used them as predictors of NPDU while controlling for potential confounders and the baseline NPDU. The findings show that constant and high-level social bonds significantly reduce the risk of NPDU, except for educational bond. However, for religious, civic, and educational bonds, the "low initial" trajectories are not significantly different from the "high-decrease" trajectories, implying that strong early-life social bonds do not prevent NPDU if such bonds register a recent decline. Weak social bonds constitute significant risk of NPDU for adults in their late twenties, and recent social bonds override the contribution of early-life bonds in most cases. Policy makers may consider strategies to sustain the active and meaningful participation in conventional institutions, and not solely rely on programs that facilitate early-life social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiology of illicit substance involvement is a multidimensional problem shaped by factors across individual, social, and environmental domains. In this study, a multicriteria framework is employed to incorporate the input of specialists regarding risk and protective factors and the effectiveness of alternative interventions to mitigate the adverse harms and consequences associated with adolescent drug initiation and subsequent use. Using a seven-stage drug use continuum (nonuse, priming, initial use, experimental use, occasional use, regular use, and dysfunctional use), experts rate social and environmental factors as the most important from nonuse to occasional use. Experts often support preventive and harm-minimizing strategies to interrupt the progression of drug involvement and accumulation of drug-related harms among adolescents. Compared with preferable interventions, less preferable options (e.g., drug testing/monitoring) are considered to have a negative policy impact on key social, environmental, and drug dimension domains, which tend to override their positive impacts on other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the basic paradigm of the U.S. federal drug policy targeting the supply and demand reduction has not changed since its enactment in 1970, there have been seriously undesirable disparate treatments and impacts among various population groups. Although U.S. Congress could not define what is discrimination, it did provide two major criteria for the assessment of discriminatory practices as follows: (a) disparate treatment—basing a key decision on association with any of the five prohibited individual’s demographic classifications (race, color, religion, sex, or national origin); and (b) disparate impact—correlation between any of the five prohibited demographic classifications and the key outcomes. In reference to those criteria, this article describes evidence-based indicators of national failure of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drugs and the Brain: A Serious Game, a prototype museum exhibit, was designed to employ virtual models of the brain into a video game format. It was done to create a fun and engaging way of conveying knowledge and concepts about neuroscience, as well as the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this prototype exhibit that promises to educate participants from various age, ethnicity, and gender backgrounds, and to establish a stronger concept of drug abuse prevention among children. A quantitative methodology using the pre- and post-experimental designs was conducted on 175 museum visitors. A series of two-sample paired t-tests and subsequent ANOVAs were performed to examine the difference between pre- and post-tests and to determine if there was a difference in the results in age, gender, ethnicity, and race. Results showed that both the understanding and attitudes of the participants toward the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain improved significantly (p < 0.01). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative model of community opiate detoxification provided on a supported one-to-one basis. Method: Analysis of data collected from participants who entered the detoxification programme during the pilot phase (March 2008–January 2009) is presented. Following an initial pre-detoxification interview each participant was subsequently interviewed at the end of detoxification and 1-month post-detoxification. Face-to-face structured interviews were conducted at each stage, which included items relating to drug use, drug withdrawal, desires for drugs, anxiety, depression, and arousal; and qualitative questions relating to participant's opinions regarding the detoxification programme. Results: Seventeen participants were admitted (15 males, mean age 39.2). Eleven participants (64.7%) exited the detoxification unit drug free. Non-significant decreases in drug use were observed amongst participants who completed follow-up. There was a significant reduction in participant's severity of withdrawal symptoms, but no difference in desires for drugs, depression, anxiety, or arousal. Participants felt positive about their detoxification experience and that the one-to-one model had contributed to detoxification success. Conclusions: This paper highlights the potential of a one-to-one model of opiate detoxification as an alternative to either the well established, home-based detoxification or the inpatient model. This study demonstrates its viability, initial level of effectiveness and positive participant perceptions, highlighting the requirement for further exploration of novel approaches to drug treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the effort to develop medications to combat addiction, researchers have developed models that attempt to describe the neurobiological process of cocaine dependence. It has not, however, yet been determined which of these models, if any, best fits the behaviors and experiences of patients. This project retrospectively evaluated changes in patients' experiences with cocaine over time in order to clarify the model that best fits clinical observations. In 2005 and 2007, 100 treatment-seeking, long-term cocaine users were recruited from an urban university-based treatment center in Philadelphia, PA, United States. Each participant was administered the “Cocaine History Questionnaire” which asked them to describe the initiation and escalation of their cocaine usage, changing reward perceptions, and effects of intoxication at certain points in their drug use careers. This data was then analyzed using repeated measures, examining the within subject differences in reported information over the time points. We found evidence that while the amount of drug used increases, self-reported euphoria decreases while negative symptoms associated with cocaine use also increase. The data provide preliminary evidence for the hedonic dysregulation model of addiction. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article provides information on the U.S. war on drug abuse. It discusses the supply-side efforts employed by the U.S. government to fight the war which consists of reducing the supply of drugs in the U.S. streets. The implications of the supply-side strategy to the U.S.' relations with its allies such as Afghanistan and Mexico as well as to the U.S. taxpayers are discussed. In addition, it features behavioral scientists' views on reducing drug abuse through contingency management (CM) therapy. It also cites the Clinical Trials Network which involves CM-based treatment of substance abuse selected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Moreover, details about the book "Contingency Management in Substance Abuse Treatment" by Higgins, Silverman, and Heil are also provided.

This short report describes an ongoing project whose aim was to explore how respondents from local institutions in a Swedish municipality describe their efforts in preventing alcohol consumption and related problems. Data were collected in focus group interviews, conducted during 2003 with key informants, comprising middle-ranking civil servants from different administrative sectors such as school, social welfare, and the public health office, in four Swedish municipalities: one city district, one town, and two small municipalities. We identified low knowledge of evidence-based methods for prevention of alcohol consumption-related problems and a lack of consistent focus on strategies known to be effective. The main target group for preventive efforts was identified as young people and the most common setting mentioned was the schools. Further, the key informants appeared to regard a wide range of activities as being community* alcohol and drug use prevention. Generally these activities also lacked specification. Increased knowledge of alcohol and drug use prevention methods that are effective at the local level is needed within Swedish municipalities, as is greater understanding of how to implement those methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effects of a community-based drug use prevention program on the frequency with which doormen at licensed premises intervene in cases of obviously drug use-impaired patrons. Doormen were trained in recognizing signs of drug use impairment to be able to stop drug use-impaired patrons to enter the premises. The study included 28 trendy nightclubs in Stockholm, Sweden, that used doormen to screen patrons. Two male actors were instructed to act as if they were obviously drug use-impaired (cocaine/amphetamines) while attempting to enter nightclubs. Data were collected at pretest when 40 entry attempts were made (2003) and posttest (2004) when 48 attempts were made. At follow-up, the doormen intervened in 27% of the attempts, a significant improvement compared to the intervention rate of 7.5% at baseline. The results indicate that the intervention has had effect on doormen's behavior. However, in the majority of the attempted visits, the doormen still did not intervene. Limitations of the study were the lack of a control group and problems with identifying the training status for the individual doormen. Further research is necessary to explore the effectiveness of community-based drug use prevention programs targeting licensed premises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation explores the role of authoritative parenting and issue involvement in regard to the recall of parental anti-drug ads encouraging child monitoring. In addition, the study tested whether issue involvement mediates the association between authoritative parenting and recall of parental anti-drug television ads among parents (N = 185) with adolescents in Grades 6, 7, and 8. The results indicate that (a) authoritative parenting is positively associated with favorable attitudes toward monitoring children and issue involvement regarding adolescent drug use, (b) issue involvement is associated with ad recall, (c) issue involvement mediates the relationship between authoritative parenting and ad recall, (d) ad recall is not associated with favorable attitudes toward parental monitoring, and (e) favorable attitudes regarding parental monitoring are positively associated with intentions to engage in monitoring within the next 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the advent of a new recovery advocacy movement in the United States. The fate of pioneer recovery programs and projects serve as the catalyst for the new advocacy movements in the United States. The developments achieved by the addiction treatment programs in the 1970s and 1980s have been threatened by the professionalization and commercialization of the program in the 1990s. This development prompted concerned individuals and organization to develop a national recovery advocacy campaign and such other programs which will refocus the goals of recovery advocacy organizations.

We conducted a systematic review of controlled studies of parenting programmes to prevent tobacco, alcohol or drug abuse in children <18. We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, specialized Register of Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group, Pub Med, psych INFO, CINALH and SIGLE. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed study quality. Data were collected on actual or intended use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs by child, and associated risk or antecedent behaviours. Due to heterogeneity we did not pool studies in a meta-analysis and instead present a narrative summary of the findings. Twenty studies met our inclusion criteria. Statistically significant self-reported reductions of alcohol use were found in six of 14 studies, of drugs in five of nine studies and tobacco in nine out of 13 studies. Three interventions reported increases of tobacco, drug and alcohol use. We concluded that parenting programmes can be effective in reducing or preventing substance use. The most effective appeared to be those that shared an emphasis on active parental involvement and on developing skills in social competence, self-regulation and parenting. However, more work is needed to investigate further the change processes involved in such interventions and their long-term effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schools use a number of measures to reduce harmful tobacco, alcohol, and drug use by students. One important component is the school’s drug policy, which serves to set normative values and expectations for student behavior as well as to document procedures for dealing with drug-related incidents. There is little empirical evidence of how policy directly or indirectly influence students’ drug taking. This study compares how effectively schools communicate school drug policies to parents and students, how they are implemented, and what policy variables impact students’ drug use at school and their perceptions of other students’ drug use at school. Methods: Data were obtained from 3876 students attending 205 schools from 2 states in the United States and Australia, countries with contrasting national drug policy frameworks. School policy data were collected from school personnel, parents, and students. Results: Schools’ policies and enforcement procedures reflected national policy approaches. Parents and students were knowledgeable of their school’s policy orientation. Conclusions: When delivered effectively, policy messages are associated with reduced student drug use at school. Abstinence messages and harsh penalties convey a coherent message to students. Strong harm-minimization messages are also associated with reduced drug use at school, but effects are weaker than those for abstinence messages. This smaller effect may be acceptable if, in the longer term, it leads to a reduction in harmful use and school dropout within the student population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a secondary data analysis on adolescents’ evaluations of 60 antimarijuana public service announcements, this study examined the role of message sensation value (MSV) as an attention distractor. The results supported the prediction based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model that MSV might be a distractor of attention to reduce ad persuasiveness when the argument quality was high and to facilitate ad persuasiveness when the argument quality was low. Furthermore, this interaction was evident only for adolescents with greater risk for marijuana use, suggesting that high MSV messages were especially distracting for the high risk adolescents. Specific MSV subcomponents contributing to this interaction were explored. Possible explanations for the interaction effect as well as implications for antidrug ad design were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to describe the translation of research on tobacco and drug abuse prevention from basic science to program development to large-scale program dissemination, and from animal to human studies. Where relevant, continuity of translation is discussed by referring to two variables that have been studied for their potential relationship to drug use risk in both animals and humans: sensation and novelty seeking and low impulse control. Review of the research indicates relatively slow translation until the early 1990s. The authors recommend several mechanisms to promote more rapid translation across types of research that encourage reciprocal rather than unidirectional transmission of knowledge to expedite the development and diffusion of more timely, targeted drug abuse prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One route to influence in mass communication campaigns to reduce risky behavior is through interpersonal discussion of the content of the campaign and other behaviors pertinent to those targeted by the campaign. The goal of this study was to test the effects of online group interaction among adolescents about antimarijuana advertisements on relevant attitudes and behaviors. A between-subjects post-only experimental design was used to test two crossed factors, online chat and strength of arguments in antidrug ads. A sample of 535 students was randomly assigned to one of four conditions: chat and strong-argument ads, chat and weak-argument ads, no chat and strong-argument ads, and no chat and weak-argument ads. The group interactions about antidrug ads lead to negative effects such that those who chatted reported more promarijuana attitudes and subjective normative beliefs than those who just viewed the ads. No support was found for the hypothesis that strong-argument ads would result in more antidrug beliefs relative to weak-argument ads in either the chat or the no-chat conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that viewing antidrug ads and discussing them with peers may result in deleterious effects in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the drug abuse prevention needs for Spanish youth in municipalities with a population below 7,000 inhabitants in the province of Valencia, Spain. The primary goal of the project was to generate policy and to identify possible courses of drug prevention in these towns. The project utilized the basic RARE model. Grounded Theory was used to frame the qualitative analysis. Interviews with local cultural experts provided strong evidence that many specifically mandated prevention needs are not adequately covered in small municipalities. The data emphasizes the ways in which young people are critical of the prevention actions directed at them. The recommended programs emphasize (1) joint actions using youth networks, (2) educating parents to take an active role in the prevention chain, (3) extending the range and availability of leisure activities, and (4) making sure that the information campaigns are adapted to the interests of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research employed the theory of reasoned action to investigate the role of authoritative parenting in 3 drug-prevention behaviors: (a) parental monitoring, (b) parent-child discussions, and (c) awareness of the child's environment. A phone survey of 158 parents of adolescents in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades revealed that authoritative parenting was correlated with parenting practices that reduce the likelihood of adolescent drug use, including discussing family rules about drugs, discussing strategies to avoid drugs, discussing those in trouble with drugs, parental monitoring, knowing the child's plans for the coming day, and personally knowing the child's friends well. Additionally, authoritative parenting moderated the attitude-behavioral intention relation for parental monitoring and awareness of the child's environment, with the weakest relation detected for low-authoritative parents. The utility of these findings in helping design and target antidrug messages for parents more effectively is discussed. [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 article focuses on using outcome data to evaluate community drug prevention initiatives. Community partnerships and related initiatives aim at preventing substance abuse in whole communities. The partnerships seek to engage all sectors and people within a local community, to produce a comprehensive prevention effort. Multiple community organizations and agencies, including the local general purpose government, are expected to collaborate in support of multiple but coordinated prevention initiatives including improved local policies, inventive use of the media, and other systems changes that go beyond isolated prevention practices. The interventions are therefore directed at universal not targeted or indicated populations.

Examines the short-term effects of an anti-marijuana media campaign targeting high sensation seeking adolescents. Nature of sensation seeking; Effectiveness of the campaign in targeting adolescents' marijuana-related beliefs, attitudes and behaviors; Value of an anti-drug campaign based on the biological link between sensation-seeking and drug use.

Examines the relevance and effectiveness of training programs for school paraprofessionals in promoting prevention of alcohol and drug abuse among youth in the United States. Student well being as basis of the training model; Implications of the programs for youth and educational environments; Link between problem behaviors of youth and substance use.

Focuses on the integration of the computer software `Refusal Challenges' into social skills training programs at schools aimed at preventing substance abuse among youth in Southern California. Effectiveness of computer-aided instructions; Relationship between social skill deficits and substance abuse; Improvement of student refusal skills.

The article discusses the Drug Offensive program launched by the Australian federal government in 1986 to increase general knowledge about drugs and to promote responsible drug use. The program had three phases. This analysis is based on a national population survey involving a systematic quota sample of all dwellings in urban centres with a population of at least 5000 people. The program relied mainly on television advertising to spread the goals of the campaign, as well as the widespread distribution of printed material. Among the written materials developed for the Drug Offensive, those most widely distributed were a booklet and an information kit.

This study examined social influences on adolescents' responses to drug offers. Seventy, narrative accounts of both successful and unsuccessful attempts to say no were collected. From these data, the authors developed a typology of both drug offers and drug resistance strategies. In addition, typologies were developed for: who made the offer, what substance was offered, where the offer occurred, and why the subject responded us she or he did. As well, the study revealed the influence of the type of drug, alcohol or controlled substance, on the process of offering and resisting. The analysis revealed that adolescents were more likely to resist offers of controlled substances and did so more often when the offer was made by an acquaintance at school. When they did refuse, they were most likely to simply say no. Also, teenagers were more likely to accept offers of alcohol, particularly from friends in social situations when the friends used persuasive appeals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the text on a discussion between, a legislative assistant, a state commissioner, a liberal manager and a hippie philosopher in the U.S. The purpose of the discussion is to establish a national drug program that would help a particular Senator to raise money. According to the legislative assistant, they will conduct drug education to increase the awareness of the public on the danger of drugs. The senator states that as a part of his plan, he will strengthen the federal police and will increase border patrol. Meanwhile, the commissioner stresses that the people should be provided with more ways to respect themselves and to do valuable work that would deviate their attention from drugs.

Highlights the conference on communication and drug abuse prevention at the University of Kentucky in Lexington in the spring of 1989. Name of sponsor; Description of participants; Presentation of several research.

Explores interpersonal communication strategies to prevent drug abuse by health professionals and the elderly. Application of the health belief model; Need for education regarding the seriousness of substance abuse; Distinction of effective strategies between health care professionals and the elderly.

The article examines the developments of the U.S. Army Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Program. The program was established to reduce the number of Army members who are alcohol and drug offenders through more effective techniques. Several factors were associated for the decrease of the incidence and prevalence of Army drug abuse including education of potential users, efforts of discovering the abusers, strengthening of law enforcement surveillance, and attempts to dissuade users from possible involvement.

The article presents information on how the parents can help their kids to fight against drugs by talking with kids or role playing scenarios.