M.Ed. / Drug abuse in secondary schools appears to be a major problem. Preliminary discussions with some learners and educators triggered the researcher to attempt making a research on this matter, since enormities of this problem has a negative impact towards the process of teaching and learning. This type of practice affects the behavioural pattern of individuals within educational institutions. For example learners bring their parents’ revolvers to school to harm their classmates, in class they laugh continuously with no apparent reason, they remain behind with their school work, dress indecently, become arrogant, use vulgar language, rape girls, become disorderly, provoke other learners and start unnecessary fights. The purpose of this study was to explore and investigate whether principals, educators, parents have the necessary knowledge and skills on how to detect the learner as being a drug abuser, how intervention takes place. Further, the research study also tries to determine whether the personnel and Learner Representative Council do check on the food that the vendors are selling to ascertain whether they don’t contain any harmful substances, that can cause a barrier in the learner’s mentality, of which at the end can encourage the learner to turn to crime as a means to survival. Data was collected through a number of methods. Various community members of educational institutions like, principals parents, educators learners and the Gauteng Department of Educators official member, dealing with drugs were interviewed to inquire about their perceptions, feelings and opinions as far as it concerned about intervention strategies for drug abuse in secondary schools. What they recommend should be done to facilitate change on causes of abusing drugs by learners, which strategies to be employed to curb this problem within secondary schools. A thorough literature review was made to determine what other researchers discovered on the same phenomena. Feelings, perceptions and opinions were read throughout the interviews. The participants proved to have a minimal knowledge about the practices of drugs within their schools and the society. By means of particular programmes designed by the school and the society, they can be empowered to open up, in order to provide assistance to the troubled children. / Prof. J.R. Debeila

A study of data from 85 undergraduate and graduate students involved in church youth groups revealed a significant relationship between degree of religious belief and drug using behavior and attitudes. Highly religious subjects disapproved of drinking alcoholic beverages and used cigarettes and alcohol less than subjects professing lower religiosity. Protestant subjects had more negative attitudes and less personal use of tobacco and alcohol than Catholics. Similar findings pertaining to drug using behavior and attitudes were reported between groups for all other substances.

盧國輝. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-278) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Lu Guohui.

The goal of the present study was to examine the relationships between college students with prior therapy and psychotropic drug experience and total number of therapy sessions. This study also investigated specific types of medications students were taking and total number of therapy sessions attended. The first hypothesis under investigation was that students who have received therapy prior to beginning treatment would remain in therapy significantly longer than participants who have received no prior therapy. It was also hypothesized that students who were prescribed psychotropic medications prior to beginning therapy will remain in therapy significantly longer than students who were taking no psychotropic medications. Lastly, it was hypothesized that students who reported taking anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications would stay in therapy longer than students taking other types of psychotropic medications will. Participants (n = 279) were collected from a pre-existing database and included students who received therapeutic services from a Southern university whose population comprised 18,485 students. The first two hypotheses were evaluated using a 2 (Prior Therapy: Yes vs. No) x 2 (Prior Medication: Yes vs. No) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The third hypothesis was analyzed using a 2 (Antidepressant Medication: Yes vs. No) x 2 (Anxiolytic Medication: Yes vs. No) x 2 (Other Psychotropic Medications: Yes vs. No) ANOVA. Results supported hypothesis 1: students who have previously attended therapy will stay in therapy significantly longer than students with no prior therapy experience F (1, 275) = 6.65, p = .01). However, findings did not support either hypotheses 2 or 3: students who were taking psychotropic medications prior to entering therapy did not stay in therapy significantly longer than students who were not taking psychotropic medications prior to therapy, regardless of type of medication. Results of the present study are important, as they provide a basis for future research examining prior college student therapy and psychotropic medication experience and duration of treatment at campus counseling centers. Additionally, results suggest that students with prior exposure to therapy stay in therapy longer than students with no prior exposure to therapy. One explanation for this finding is that students with prior therapy experience are likely more familiar, and more comfortable, with the therapy process than those with no prior experience. In turn, they stay in treatment longer. Universities and campus counseling centers may consider providing students with information about mental health and therapy, as this finding and research suggests that students with personal experience or prior knowledge of mental illness or therapy have more favorable attitudes about therapy than those with no prior knowledge or experience. It is also feasible that students who continue therapy while attending college have more severe mental health problems or disorders and require further treatment. This finding is significant for universities and campus counseling centers, also, as many counseling centers use a brief model of therapy, which may not prove beneficial for students with more severe problems. However, definitive information is not available, as the current data set lacks important information, such as the previous duration of treatment, student diagnoses, time of semester that the students entered therapy, and improvement in symptoms following current therapy. Thus, results should be interpreted with caution. Other limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed.

Five semi-structured interviews were held with key informants of various organisations both on and off campus in order to gain an understanding of the context of drug-taking by university students in Pietermaritzburg. Thereafter, an holistic, single case study was undertaken to describe and explain significant predisposing, precipitating and maintaining factors present in an experiential analysis of a university student's drug-taking. Two semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted in collaboration with Rory, and a diary was written by him for the duration of one month. He also submitted a poem which he previously wrote, as well as a letter addressed to himself, both which reflected on his experiences of drug-taking. The data was subsequently intertwined with a brief review ofthe literature as well as with the theories ofUrie Bronfenbrenner, Albert Bandura and Erik Erikson, in order to interpret and understand the data meaningfully. Authoritarian parenting style, poor family functioning, parental values regarding drinking, and lack of positive father-son interaction appear to have predisposed Rory to start drinking and taking drugs. Rory's sense ofidentity confusion, peer models ofdrinking and taking drugs, and lack of parental monitoring seem to have precipitated Rory's drug-taking. His continued association with drug-using peer groups, his search for a sense ofbelonging following his parents' divorce, permissive parenting style, as well as the availability and pleasurable effects of drugs have maintained his drug-taking. Experiential case studies can play a positive role in generating future conceptual frameworks to understand drug-taking, to prevent drug use, and to effectively treat drug-taking individuals. The Ecological Theory of Urie Bronfenbrenner The Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura The Psychosocial Theory of Erik H. Erikson 8 12 16 18 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 An Understanding of the Context The Student Counselling Centre The Campus Health Centre South Mrican National Council for Alcoholism South Mrican Narcotics Bureau A University Residence / Thesis (M.A.)- University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) is a critical Public Health problem in the college population that represents a unique form of substance use. Namely, the primary motives for IUPS by college students are academic in nature (e.g., Teter, McCabe, LaGrange, Cranford, & Boyd, 2006), which may explain why usage rates as high as 43% have been reported on college campuses (Advokat, Guidry, & Martino, 2008). As the field of IUPS is in its infancy, the IUPS-literature lacks 1) a consistent definition of "illicit use of prescription stimulants", 2) an instrument designed to assess the multiple influences on IUPS behavior, and 3) a theoretical lens (Bavarian, 2010a). Accordingly, the goal of this study was to address these research gaps by examining IUPS at one university located in the Pacific Northwest using the theory of triadic influence (TTI; Flay & Petraitis, 1994; Flay, Snyder, & Petraitis, 2009), an integrated, ecological approach to explaining and predicting health behaviors. The study included five phases of research. The first phase began with a systematic approach to measurement development resulting in a 97-item preliminary instrument, the Behaviors, Expectancies, Attitudes and College Health Questionnaire (BEACH-Q). The measure was reviewed by the dissertation committee, leading to revisions in content and structure. During phase II, the BEACH-Q was evaluated by a convenience sample of five health and measurement professionals, and results suggested good content validity of the instrument (i.e. 35 of the 37 TTI-based covariates received a median rating between "agree" and "strongly agree", and 34 received a mean rating between "agree" and "strongly agree"). In phase III (instrument review by a convenience sample of six undergraduates), all 37 covariates received a median and mean rating between "agree" and "strongly agree", confirming good face validity. In phase IV, one undergraduate classroom was selected to participate in a pilot test of the BEACH-Q, using test-retest methodology. Results from the pilot (N = 39) showed that the instrument had moderate to high internal consistency reliability and modest to high stability reliability. In phase V, the final 96-item version of the BEACH-Q was administered throughout campus using one-stage cluster sampling, with classrooms as the sampling unit and students as the observation unit (N = 520 students in 20 classrooms, eligible student response rate = 96.30%). The prevalence of IUPS during college self-reported by the phase V sample was 25.58%, and the probability of engaging in IUPS did not differ between classrooms (Median Odds Ratio = 1.00). In crude logistic regressions, 24 out of 37 hypothesized theoretical covariates were significantly associated with IUPS in the expected direction, suggesting predictive validity of the BEACH-Q. Nested logistic regression analyses illustrated that, for the full multivariate model including ultimate, distal, and proximal covariates, the following measures in the intrapersonal stream were significantly associated with IUPS during college: race/ethnicity, year in school, academic concern, academic grades, diagnosis with Attention Deficit Disorder, and IUPS avoidance self-efficacy. Significant social situation/context stream covariates in the full model included: residence, varsity sports participation, perceptions of IUPS by friends, family, and faculty, endorsement of IUPS by friends, and perceived prevalence of IUPS among friends. With respect to the sociocultural environment stream, in the full multivariate model, the following covariates were found to be significantly associated with IUPS: financial-related stress, participation in religious activities, positive IUPS expectancies, prescription stimulant knowledge and perceived costs/benefits of IUPS. Lastly, intention to engage in IUPS (an immediate precursor) was positively associated with IUPS. Structural equation modeling was used to test models of IUPS for each of the three streams, as well as one integrated model that included covariates from each stream. The models all demonstrated good model fit, and provided insight into the factors that influence (and suggest the mechanisms of causation) intentions to engage in, and ultimately the behavior of, IUPS. In the intrapersonal stream model, inattention was positively associated with academic concern and inversely associated with avoidance self-efficacy, and avoidance self-efficacy was inversely associated with intentions to engage in IUPS. Moreover, intentions to engage in IUPS and avoidance self-efficacy were both significantly associated with IUPS. In the social situation/context stream model, living on-campus was negatively associated with friends' endorsement of IUPS which was positively associated with perceived prevalence of IUPS among friends, and perceived prevalence was positively associated with intentions to engage in IUPS; all of the direct paths to IUPS, excepting the path from perceived prevalence of IUPS among friends, were significant. In the sociocultural environment model, perception of course demand was significantly associated with both the perception that professors give the most attention to top academic students and attitudes about the impact of prescription stimulants on academics, and these attitudes had a positive association with intentions to engage in IUPS. Moreover, the direct paths from attitudes and intentions to IUPS were significant. The mixed model, including participation in religious activities (sociocultural environment stream), friends' endorsement of IUPS (social situation/context stream), and avoidance self-efficacy (intrapersonal stream), also had significant paths from ultimate to distal to proximal to immediate precursor, and significant direct paths to IUPS. This study successfully achieved its goals. First, the instrument developed was theory-driven, broadly defined IUPS, and was psychometrically strong. The cross-sectional study illustrated that IUPS was prevalent on the campus under investigation, as one in four students had engaged in the behavior during college. Associations of use with theoretical correlates were tested for, and structural equation modeling was used to support one premise of the TTI (i.e. that behavior is multifaceted, and covariates from different streams may interact to influence behavior). The findings also suggest that prevention and intervention plans should be multifaceted in nature. Given that this study's cross-sectional nature limited the ability to make causal inferences, future research involving the BEACH-Q should use longitudinal designs. / Graduation date: 2012

The purpose of this study determined whether use of student random drug testing provided an effective means to reduce drug usage by secondary school students. The participants included 50,214 7th through 12th grade students in 12 selected public schools. All school districts participated in the Texas School Survey of Substance Use in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. The six districts in the experimental group used drug testing as a method of reducing drug usage among students. The six districts in the control group did not use drug testing. Although athletes and students involved in extracurricular activities remain the focus of random dug testing, this research focused on an entire school population to determine whether drug testing only a select group of students reduced reported drug usage in the entire school. Two questions guided the research: First, does the use of random drug testing have an impact on student drug usage? Second, does the year of implementation of random drug testing have an impact on students' self-reported drug usage? The findings for each research question were categorized according to nine illegal drugs. The researcher used a one-way repeated measures factorial design. The data were analyzed via the univariate (split-plot) 2 x 4 analysis of variance (ANOVA), with the data from four periodic surveys (1994, 1996, 1998, & 2000) as a within-subject factor and the treatment group (participation in drug testing or control/no drug testing) as a between-subjects factor. The results of the study showed there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental group of school districts that used random drug testing and the control group of school districts that did not use random drug testing. In addition, the study showed there was no statistically significant difference in drug usage between the students in districts who began random drug testing in different years (i.e. 1994, 1996, 1998, & 2000).

The purpose of this study was to analyze factors that predict marijuana use and grade point average among undergraduate college students using the Core Institute national database. The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey was used to collect data on students’ attitudes, beliefs, and experiences related to substance use in college. The sample used in this study was delimited to include only full-time undergraduate students (N =111,664) and data were collected from 2011 to 2015. Six research questions provided the foundation of the study, which was operationalized by Astin’s (1993) input environment outcome model (IEO). Descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the sample in terms of individual and institutional characteristics, campus experiences, and substance use. Comparative analyses including one-way analysis of variance and two-way analysis of variance were conducted to determine statistical significance of differences between groups for gender, ethnic origin, marijuana use, and grade point average. Effect sizes were calculated for each ANOVA to determine the magnitude of the effect and practical significance for the population. Finally, inferential analyses using hierarchical, multiple regression were conducted to predict marijuana use. The regression model was also used to explore factors predicting medical marijuana and recreational marijuana use among students in the 2015 cohort. Statistically significant results were reported for each regression model. Statistically significant at p < .001, the factors that explained 42.2% of the variance in the final model included: gender, ethnic origin, age, institutional control, campus locale, intercollegiate athletics, social fraternities and sororities, music and performing arts, alcohol use, illegal drug use change, perceived risk of harm from trying marijuana once or twice, and perceived risk of harm from smoking marijuana regularly. Implications for policy, practice, and future research regarding marijuana use and academic performance are included. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The way in which adolescents perceive themselves and interact with peers, teachers and caregivers could determine whether they would drink alcohol and smoke dagga or not. Without positive self-concept amongst adolescents and experiencing of positive communication with caregivers, it can be said, there is a likelihood of drinking alcohol and smoking of dagga by adolescents. A 52-item questionnaire was constructed on the basis of current international and South African research on the adolescents who drink alcohol and smoke dagga. The biographical data was used as independent variables in the questionnaire. These independent variables included questions on age, gender, grade and the person who takes care of adolescent. The questionnaire was completed by 443 adolescents in grade 9 and 11 from one secondary school in Soweto. Of this total, 48,1% were males (N=213) and 51,9% were females (N=230). A factor analysis of the questionnaire revealed two statistically significant constructs and they were termed “Experience of locus of control with respect to school” (Chronbach alpha of 0.900) and “Experience of communication with caregivers by adolescents (0.892). With respect to the bivariate analysis of the relationships between (1)the gender of adolescents (2)the age of adolescents and who is the caregiver to the adolescent and the (1)drinking of alcohol and the (2)smoking of dagga, the following was found: • adolescents who lived with stepparents are more inclined to drink alcohol than adolescents who lived with both mother and father, single parents and other. • a significantly higher proportion of males drink alcohol man females who drink alcohol. • a significantly higher proportion of older adolescents (17 years, 18 years and older) drink alcohol than younger adolescents (16 years, 15 years and younger). The impact of this research would indicate that adolescents with negative self-concept about themselves display a significantly greater inclination towards drinking alcohol and smoking of dagga. Also, adolescents who live with stepparents display a significantly more negative experience of drinking alcohol and smoking of dagga than adolescents who live with both mother and father, single parents and other. / Prof. C.P.H Myburgh

The problem of this study concerned illicit psychoactive drug use among community college students. A non-experimental design methodology, a survey, was used in this study. The population consisted of 149 students at 14 randomly selected public community college institutions throughout the United States. Three waves of mailings took place to increase response rate. Community college students appear to be knowledgeable regarding the deleterious physical and mental impact upon those who use drugs. Community college students appear to have a negative attitude toward drug use and toward those who use them. Community college students have an aversion to actual drug use. The illicit psychoactive drug of choice among community college students is marijuana.