Youth substance abuse in Oregon reached epidemic proportions in the early 1980s. A response to this social issue from the Governor's Office, the state legislature, and the Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs during 1983-1985 is the foundation of this case study. Oregon, a small state of three million, was faced with a growing problem of youth and adult substance abuse. Legislative leaders, agency staff, and Governor Atiyeh recognized an opportunity to create public policy to solve problems of substance abuse including crime. The focus on substance abuse included streamlining several budgets with substance abuse monies in various state agencies. The intent of this study was to recreate the development of public policy specifically in the area of youth substance abuse during the years 1983-1985. The final policy, Oregon House Bill 2124 (1985), represented the work budgets with alcohol and drug monies in various state agencies. The intent of this study is to recreate the development of public policy specifically in the area of youth substance abuse during the years 1983-1985. The final policy, Oregon House Bill 2124 (1985), represented the work of several political entities, and presented recommendations for substance abuse treatment, budget alignments among several agencies with alcohol and drug monies, and finally, prevention of youth substance abuse. This dissertation established that leadership and politics affected policy development more than the variables of economics, special interest groups, or research which were chosen from the literature in policy development. Research was the variable studied in depth to determine if policy developers utilized what was known about youth substance abuse to develop policy goals. Several barriers to the use of research and rational methods for policy development were uncovered. The study found that the use of research was regarded as important among policy developers, but their practice was not at all congruent with that belief. There were many studies on youth prevention and social competency training available to policy planners which may have supported more specific policy recommendations. No collaborations between researchers and policy developers occurred in this case study. The barriers to collaborative efforts with researchers and the use of policy analysis methods were uncovered in this study. The final policy document presented to the legislature lacked specific recommendations for well researched programs which appeared to be the result of political considerations rather than rational policy development. Finally, this case of policy development revealed a process that was inconsistent, politically driven, disregarded available research, and resulted in broad policy goals which have not been exceptionally successful in limiting or even addressing youth substance abuse over the nine years of implementation by the same administrator who significantly helped to develop them.

The purpose of the literature review is to identify consistent patterns regarding adolescent use and abuse of chemical substances, especially alcohol and marijuana. Acute physical, cognitive and social effects of alcohol and marijuana use are outlined, and environmental and personal determinants of drug use and abuse are examined. Methods of prevention and intervention are discussed and, from the research findings, a model group counseling program designed for the school setting is proposed. Adolescent use of both marijuana and alcohol is found to be modal by age 16-17. The physical, cognitive and social effects are pervasive and especially damaging to chronic users. Youth are extremely vulnerable to suffering adversity from their drug use patterns.

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The purpose of this investigation focused on determining the effects of a physical conditioning program on physical fitness and health attitudes on inpatient adolescent male substance abusers during and following participation in a six week fitness program. The fitness measures chosen for this study were the 1 1/2 mile run, skinfold, sit-and-reach, and grip strength. The first four of these measures make up the AAHPERD test battery (AAHPERD, 1980). The Health Attribution Test (Lawlis and Lawlis, 1980) was administered to determine health locus of control.

The increasing prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD) is a major public health crisis in the Unites States. Adolescence is an ideal period for early intervention to reduce the risk of SUDs in adulthood, as research has shown that up to 60% of adult SUD could have been avoided by early intervention in youth. Prior research has typically focused on urban metropolitan areas when describing adolescent substance use. However while the data is varied, several studies have shown that the prevalence of rural adolescent substance use is equal or greater than that of their urban peers, particularly alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drug use, and begin use at an earlier age. There are several methods of treatment for adolescent substance use and SUD, centered on evidence-based practices, which have been shown to be moderately effective at reducing substance use. Despite the existence of these treatment strategies, substantial disparities exists with respect to the number of adolescents who could potentially benefit and the number who actually enroll in treatment. It has been estimated that 90% of adolescents in need of treatment are not able to succeed in receiving it. This highlights the importance of understanding the circumstances in which youth initiate drug use and the unique barriers they must overcome to receive treatment when these behaviors develop into a pattern that impacts daily life. With this information, interventions can be targeted to reduce the magnitude of the most significant barriers in order to increase treatment utilization, especially in rural areas where adolescents face unique challenges to treatment access as a consequence of their remote locations. A literature review was conducted and found the major barriers in access to substance use treatment for adolescents to be a lack of available treatment programs, lack of treatment options including medication treatment, lack of perceived need or motivation for treatment, social stigma, socioeconomic status (SES), familial relationships, and referral services. These studies were all conducted in the United States and published from 2011-2020. The aim of this thesis is to propose a protocol for the completion of a systematic review to determine which barriers exist to adolescents receiving substance use treatment and to examine them in the context of rurality. Healthcare decisions and policy are informed by the best available evidence from systematic research and incorporated into evidence-based practices. A systematic review will summarize the findings of all relevant studies thereby making the key information more accessible to decision makers, including clinicians and policy makers, in order for substance use treatment to become more accessible to adolescents.

The fundamental principle that reliability is a property of scores and not of instruments provides the foundation of a meta-analytic technique called reliability generalization (RG). RG studies characterize the reliability of scores generated by a given instrument and identify methodological and sample characteristics that contribute to the variability in the reliability of those scores. The present study is an RG of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). Reliability estimates were obtained from 19.8% of studies using the SASSI. Bivariate correlations revealed strong, positive correlations between SASSI score reliability and score variability of the Subtle Attributes (r = .877, p < .05) and Family History (r = .892, p < .05) subscales and between score reliability and ethnicity for both the Family History (r = .683, p < .05) and Tendency to Involvement in Correctional Setting (r = .76, p < .05) subscales.

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Introduction: Substance use, including cigarette smoking, while pregnant can lead to a plethora of health concerns for both the mother and unborn child including premature birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth. Compared with women nationally, pregnant women in Tennessee are more than three times as likely to smoke during pregnancy. Preliminary findings suggest high levels of religious commitment may be reliable predictors of negative health behaviors. However, the association between religious commitment and substance use has not been thoroughly investigated in pregnant populations. Using a brief measure of religious commitment, it was hypothesized that pregnant women with higher levels of religious commitment would be significantly less likely to engage in cigarette smoking and other substance use. Methods: Participants included 654 pregnant women involved in the Tennessee Intervention for Pregnant Smokers program who completed multiple interviews during pregnancy. Of interest in the current investigation, participants’ religious commitment was measured using two items from the 12-item Surrender Scale, and a 1-item church attendance measure from the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality. Participants also completed a background information form assessing demographic characteristics, smoking habits, and drug use, with final substance use variables composites of both self-report and urine drug screen results. Results: Direct logistic regression was performed to assess associations between religious commitment and both smoking status (at conception and delivery) and other substance use. All models included level of education, age, marital status, and insurance status. The full direct model predicting smoking status at conception was statistically significant, χ2 (5, n = 654) = 178.76, p < .001, indicating the model could distinguish between participants who did and did not report smoking early in pregnancy. The model as a whole explained between 24% and 32% of the variance in smoking status, and correctly classified 71% of cases. All variables made statistically significant and unique contributions to the model, including religious commitment (OR=.857). A similar pattern was found in the model predicting smoking status at delivery χ2 = 157.01, p < .001. A third regression, using the same predictors, examining the impact of religious commitment on any illicit drug use prior to or during pregnancy, was also statistically significant, χ2 = 58.46, p < .001. Conclusions and Implications: In this sample, religious commitment predicted smoking status and other drug use during and prior to pregnancy. Inquiry into religious commitment as an additional gauge of health behaviors may be beneficial to healthcare professionals. Future research should investigate the possible mechanism of how religious commitment influences health behaviors in pregnancy.

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Substance abuse is a global problem that has contributed to a variety of societal, financial, health, and familial strains. An increasing prevalence of illicit drug, prescription opioids, and alcohol abuse has created a need for re-evaluation of recovery and relapse treatments. This literature review examines the efficacy of meditation-based treatments for relapse prevention in persons recovering from Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). A comparative analysis of Mindfulness Based Relapse Programs (MBRP), an adapted MBRP-W program, and a Transcendental Meditation (TM) intervention was used to examine the success of meditation-based interventions. Research supports improvements associated with the meditation-based interventions including significant reductions in substance use, craving, stress, and negative affect. Meditation-based therapy may provide the emotional self-regulation and decreased impulsivity required for long-term abstinence from substance use. Consistent meditative practice was associated with greater improvements. Altering current meditation-based therapy treatment programs to encourage adherence and participation may increase success. Additional research is needed to evaluate long-term relapse prevention potential. Research incorporating meditation-based supportive therapies that promote well-being, emotion regulation, and stress relief are important for the future of successful SUD treatment.