Highlights from Drugs and the Class of '78: Behaviors, Attitudes, and Recent National Trends.

The current prevalence of drug use among American high school seniors (classes of 1975 through 1978) was investigated through a program entitled "Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of the Lifestyles and Values of Youth," conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The basic research, involving data collections beginning with the class of 1975, took place in approximately 125 public and private high schools selected to provide an accurate cross section of seniors throughout the United States. Questionnaire results indicated that: (1) about 65% report illicit drug use at some time in their lives; (2) marihuana is the most widely used illicit drug; (3) use of alcohol and cigarettes is more widespread than use of illicit drugs; (4) college-bound students have lower rates of illicit drug use; and (5) regional differences in 1978 were insignificant. Trends in drug use comparing the classes of 1975 through 1978 suggest there has been an appreciable rise in marihuana use and female cigarette smoking, and despite the decline in perceived harmfulness of most drugs (licit or illicit) there has been very little change over the past three years in levels of disapproval for most of them. (Author/HLM)