Attitudinal Basis of Drug Use -- 1987; Changing Attitudes Toward Drug Use -- 1988; Attitudinal Basis of Drug Use; The Third Year: Reports from the Media-Advertising Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Inc.

• NCJ Number: 121844
• Author(s): G S Black
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 217 pages
• Corporate Author: Gordon S. Black Corporation
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America embarked on a mission to "unsell" illegal drug use (in particular marijuana, cocaine, and crack) in the United States; these reports trace the changes in usage rates and attitudes towards drug use and analyze the relationship between those changes and the Partnership's advertising campaign.

Abstract

The objectives of this campaign were to decrease acceptance and increase social disapproval of drug use, increase awareness of risks, increase communications by parents, and eventually decrease demand. The first wave of research, conducted in February 1987, involved interviews with over 7300 respondents recruited at shopping malls and other central locations. The finding focused on the pattern of drug use and vulnerabilities of various groups including preteens, teenagers, college students, adults, parents, Hispanics, and blacks and led to recommendations that the Partnership effort focus on changing the attitudinal underpinnings of drug abuse that were evident from the data. The second wave of research, completed during February and March, 1988, attempted to specify the attitudinal and other changes that had occurred since the Partnership began its campaign. The findings indicated many attitudes had become more antagonistic toward drug use in all the samples. In areas with high media exposure, the changes were substantially greater than in the balance of the U.S. And among college students, where changes were greatest, there were significant declines in cocaine consumptions, particularly among "occasional users." The third wave of research was conducted in February and March, 1989. Similar to the 1988 findings, there were positive attitude changes, most evident in the adult, preteen, and younger teenager samples. The overall prevalence of marijuana and cocaine use declined in most demographic groups, black and whites showed significant improvements in drug-related attitudes, and respondents in high media exposure areas experienced the greatest improvements. Chapter references.