NCJ Number
132121
Journal
Drug Education Journal of Australia Volume: 4 Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 203-210
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Rosch's (1973) prototypicality approach to concepts, which enables data on the concept of "Drug" to be collected by having subjects state as many members of the category "Drug" as possible within a fixed time, was used to compare the concept of "Drug" across a sample of 400 children (8-12 years), 400 adolescents (13-17 years), and 400 adults (18-77 years).
Abstract
Nicotine and alcohol were most prototypical of "Drug" for female children and relatively high on prototypicality for male children. Heroin, marijuana, and cocaine were far more prototypical of "Drug" than either nicotine or alcohol for both the adolescent and adult groups. The adults possessed a more complex concept of "Drug" than either adolescents or children. It may prove helpful to utilize the concept of "Drug" held by target populations in planning drug education programs. Suggestions for increasing the prototypicality of nicotine and alcohol in the minds of adolescents and adults include: make media campaigns relatively infrequent but as vivid as possible and develop a new category for nicotine and alcohol, such as "Quiet Killers," which implies both danger and long-term health damage. 3 tables and 16 references (Author abstract modified)