This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Perceptions of Middle and High School Students

Evelyn Cohen Reis, MD; Anne K. Duggan, ScD; Hoover Adger, Jr, MD, MPH; Catherine DeAngelis, MD, MPH

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148(12):1262-1268.

Abstract
Objectives
To examine the perceived impact of anti-drug advertising on the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior pertaining to youth drug use and to evaluate the influence of demographic characteristics, media exposure, and substance use on the likelihood of perceiving a deterrent effect of anti-drug advertisements.

Design
Anonymous, self-administered survey.

Setting
Urban and suburban public schools.

Participants
Eight hundred thirty-seven students in middle and high school (52% suburban, 50% male, 48% white) were studied in group convenience samples.

Outcome Measures
Self-report of the impact of anti-drug advertising on knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior pertaining to drug use.

Results
Overall, 83% (95% confidence interval [CI], 80% to 86%) of the student sample was exposed to anti-drug advertising. A majority of these students reported a positive impact of anti-drug advertisements: 92% (95% CI, 89% to 95%) perceived an increase in their knowledge of drugs; 60% (95% CI, 56% to 64%) felt they gained stronger beliefs about the dangers of drugs; 52% (95% CI, 48% to 56%) felt they developed more negative attitudes toward drug users; and 75% (95% CI, 72% to 78%) reported that they had decreased, stopped, or been convinced never to initiate drug use. Multivariate analysis revealed that the non—Sdrug-using, urban, and younger students were most likely to perceive a deterrent impact on behavior.

Conclusion
Anti-drug advertising was perceived to have a deterrent effect on self-reported substance use among this population of adolescents.

(Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148:1262-1268)

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?