Elias J. Duryea

Age of onset, periods of risk, and patterns of progression in drug use among american indian high school students

A sample of 277 Native American students (grades 7 to 12) was surveyed to examine the age of onset, patterns of progression, and periods of risk for drug use. Results suggest that Native American youth begin smoking cigarettes and marijuana, drinking, sniffing solvents, and using cocaine as early as 10 years of age. The period of risk for initiation of drug use was between the ages of 10 and 13 years. Implications for drug use prevention-education programming are presented.

Six-Month Follow-up Results of a Preventive Alcohol Education Intervention

An alcohol education program was designed to increase the knowledge of alcohols effects upon performance, increase ability of students to refute pro-drinking and driving arguments, and decrease likelihood of complying with pressure to participate in alcohol-related situations. Films, slides, discussion and role playing activities were included in the program administered to 155 ninth grade students in Nebraska. The objectives were measured through written tests administered in a pre, post and six-month follow-up sequence. An ANOVA performed on the posttests indicated that the experimental group scored significantly more favorably on knowledge, refuting arguments, compliance and riding with drinking drivers. A repeated measures ANOVA using the scores of students who received pre, post, and follow-up tests (N=83) showed that the knowledge, refutation and compliance scores of the experimental group continued to be significantly more favorable six months later.

Effects of a Preventive Alcohol Education Program after Three Years.

A three-year evaluation of Nebraska students (N = 130) was conducted to gauge the long-term influence of an initial preventive alcohol education intervention. The initial intervention was developed around the inoculation model of McGuire which proposes that individuals can be inoculated against persuasive verbal appeals and thus resist specific pressures. Students in the initial program were assessed and found to be highly susceptible to peer pressure to misuse alcohol. Subjects were followed through their junior year in high school and assessed on the following self-report alcohol-related behaviors: frequency of riding with drinking drivers; frequency of drinking and, frequency of drinking to excess. Cognitive areas assessed included items assessing the concept of tolerance to alcohol. Results suggest that after three years frequency of risky alcohol-related behavior between experimental and control students was not significantly different. Assessments of cognitive items revealed no statistically significant differences between experimental and control students. When viewed in context with prior evaluations of these subjects at two-weeks and six-months time, the findings are disappointing yet informative. The claim that specific “educational inoculation” strategies play a long-term role in delaying the initiation of risky health behavior in adolescents is discussed. The judicious integration of periodic, sequential, and meaningful booster components into school-based environments is recommended as a potential way to achieve a more lasting effect in preventive inoculation efforts.

Psychological Immunization: Theory, Research, and Current Health Behavior Applications

A critical review of McGuires Inoculation Theory, its research base and current health behavior applications in health education research is presented. Foci include research efforts in the areas of smoking, alcohol, and diabetes management. The theory and its utilization in future resistance-to-persuasion interventions in health education is exam ined.

Health Promotion Efforts in an Isolated Hispanic Community: The Mora Substance Abuse Prevention Project.

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Alcohol Education; Community Cooperation; *Community Involvement; Cultural Isolation; Drinking; *Drug Education; Drug Use; Ethnic Groups; Health Education; *Hispanic Americans; Marijuana; *Rural Areas; Rural Schools; Secondary Education; Secondary School Students; Small Schools IDENTIFIERS *Health Promotion; Isolation (Geographic); *New Mexico (Mora County); Substance Abuse

Methodological Issues Related to the Use of P<0.05 in Health Behavior Research

Abstract This paper reviews methodological issues related to the use of P<0.05 in health behavior research and suggests how application and presentation of statistical significance may be improved. Assessment of sample size and P<0.05, the file drawer problem, the Law of Large Numbers and the statistical significance arguments in epidemiology, health behavior, and psychology were examined. The reporting of confidence intervals (CI), effect sizes (ES), and use of nonstatistical graphics can improve portrayal and understanding of findings. Health behavior literature has had some scholarly examination of how to improve analysis of findings but has not had an in-depth dialog on other concepts related to P<0.05. Attention to these concepts could improve clarity in how research outcomes are presented and thereby increase credibility of health behavior research.

Psychometric and related deficits in preventive alcohol intervention programming

The 1991 study by Collins and Cellucci ignores some important research principles needed for sound educational inquiry. Psychometric properties of evaluation instruments cannot be omitted from even field tests of small scale. Selected other omissions need review since other researchers may replicate such errors.

Estimating the Prevalence of Adolescent Nonverbal Peer Pressures: An Exploratory Study

Abstract The basic forms of nonverbal communication include eye gaze (oculesics), emblems (gestures), proxemics (space invasion), haptics (touch), facial expressions, and paralanguage. This research project studied how frequently adolescents communicate nonverbally with each other to exert pressure in typical high school situations. The primary purpose of this study was to survey ninth grade students (N=135) regarding the prevalence of nonverbal pressures in their daily experiences and examine gender differences. Results analyzed by gender show differences in prevalence of receiving threatening gestures (p<.001); space invasion from males (p< .001); trust toward deceptive smiles from males (p< .01), and greater prevalence of males using gaze to pressure others (p< .05). Of 37 items, these nonverbal strategies were the only statistically significant gender differences. Despite the increasing interest in nonverbal communication, school-based sexuality education programs do not typically implement training programs that teach adolescents how to decode and negotiate nonverbal pressures exerted during interpersonal situations. Creative and relevant nonverbal peer resistance training could benefit the young population, particularly females. Applied training on detecting and managing nonverbal overtures designed to exert health-compromising pressures can assist youths in effectively negotiating these forces (i.e., unprotected sex, drinking, drug experimentation).

Behavior Assessment and Cross-Validation by Surrogate Measures in Drug Prevention Research.

When used with more orthodox survey or interview techniques, surrogate measures can enhance a studys credibility. Presented is a case report which illustrates the viability of using a surrogate measure to cross-validate self-reports of alcohol consumption by members of a fraternity at a large Midwestern university. As federal authorities continue to scrutinize myriad ways to reduce the nations health care burden drug abuse research will have an enhanced opportunity to justify its role in that movement. The historical reliance on self-report methods which lack supportive, corroborating evidence of behavior change may jeopardize preventive drug educations opportunity to play a more integral part in influencing health promotion policies.

Meta-Review of Sampling Dilemmas in Health Education Research: Design Issues and Ethical Precepts

Discussed is the previously unexamined relationship in health education literature between sampling techniques used in health behavior research and the ethical dilemmas investigators in the field must regularly negotiate. The intent is to describe the inherent weaknesses in both areas and to offer possible options for improvement The concepts of two-level randomization, validity of inferring results to a source population, snowball, and central location intercept sampling strategies are explored. The ethics of selecting specific sampling approaches as well as research designs to conduct research on “hidden populations” or disenfranchized cohorts such as runaways or intravenous drug users, is also examined. Recommendations are offered to enhance these two interrelated domains of inquiry and thus strengthen the image of the field both academically and publicly.