This two-volume monograph reports the results of the 24th national survey of drug use and related attitudes and beliefs among American high school seniors, the nineteenth such survey of American college students, and the eighth such survey of eighth- and tenth-grade students. The major purpose of this publication is to develop an accurate picture of current drug use and trends. Given the illicit and illegal nature of most of the phenomena under study and the absence of prevalence data, substantial misconceptions can develop and resources may be misallocated. Throughout this report, the focus in on drug use at the higher frequency levels rather than simply on who has used various drugs. A summary of the findings on trends includes: over more than a decade--from the late 1970s to the early 1990s--these were very appreciable declines in use of a number of illicit drugs among twelfth-grade students, and even larger declines in their use among American college students and young adults. These substantial improvements--which seem largely explainable in terms of changes in attitudes, beliefs about the risks of drug use, and peer norms against drug use--have some extremely important policy implications. One of these is that these various substance-using behaviors among American young people are malleable--they can be changed. Secondly, the demand-side factors appear to have been pivotal in bringing about these changes. the availability of marijuana, as reported by high school seniors, has held fairly steady throughout the life of the study. Improvements should not be taken for granted; relapse is always possible. In 1992, eighth graders exhibited a significant increase in annual use of marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and hallucinogens other than LSD, as well as an increase in inhalant use. In 1993, increases occurred in a number of "gateway drugs"--marijuana, cigarettes, and inhalants. The drug problem requires an ongoing, dynamic response from our society--one that takes into account the continuing generational replacement of our children and the generational forgetting of the dangers of drugs which can occur with that replacement. Contains 5 appendixes, 128 tables, and 105 figures.) (JDM)

This report summarizes a national survey of drug use and related attitudes among American secondary school students. All of its data came from an ongoing national research and reporting program entitled, "Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of the Lifestyles and Values of Youth." These surveys address two major topics: (1) the prevalence of drug use among American students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades; and (2) drug use trends by those students. Distinctions were drawn among demographic subgroups, incidence of first use recorded, trends in use at lower grade levels, and intensity of drug use. Also included were key attitudes about illicit drug use--incorporating perceptions of the social environment--as potential explanatory factors. The research focused on frequent drug use rather than analyzing everyone who has ever used drugs. This strategy serves to differentiate levels of seriousness, or extent, of drug involvement. Survey results indicate that the last decade witnessed an appreciable decrease in the use of numerous illicit drugs among seniors. However, eighth-graders exhibited a significant increase in some drug use, such as marijuana, cocaine, and LSD. This latter evidence may indicate that younger cohorts have less opportunity to learn though informal means about the dangers of drugs. Two appendixes present the prevalence and trend estimates adjusted for absentees and dropouts, and definitions of background and demographic subgroups. (RJM)

An authoritative, broad, and practical survey of the social, psychological, and physical development of American teenagers. In Adolescence in America, more than 100 leading experts from the fields of biology, medicine, behavioral and social science, law, education, and the humanities piece together the puzzle of adolescence. In readable, accessible language they analyze the explosion of research that has reshaped the study of adolescence in the last 30 years and explain how today's leading scientists and practitioners view the challenges of this developmental period. Best of all, they show parents how to apply the latest scientific knowledge, such as the 40 "developmental assets" that predict a child's behavior, to their own family situation.

(Publisher-supplied data) This book represents the first systematic discussion of the Gateway Hypothesis, a developmental hypothesis formulated to model how adolescents initiate and progress in the use of various drugs. In the United States, this progression proceeds from the use of tobacco or alcohol to the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs. This volume presents a critical overview of what is currently known about the Gateway Hypothesis. The authors of the chapters explore the hypothesis from various perspectives ranging from developmental social psychology to prevention and intervention science, animal models, neurobiology and analytical methodology. This volume is original and unique in its purview, covering a broad view of the Gateway Hypothesis. The juxtaposition of epidemiological, intervention, animal and neurobiological studies represents a new stage in the evolution of drug research, in which epidemiology and biology inform one another in the understanding of drug abuse.