NCJ Number
50625
Date Published
1978
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A COMPARISON OF ACADEMIC AND CAREER PROGRESS AMONG DRUG USERS AND NONUSERS IN A SAMPLE OF MALE COLLEGE STUDENTS IS DOCUMENTED.
Abstract
THE STUDY SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 960 MEN WHO ENTERED THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY AS FRESHMEN IN FALL 1970. DATA WERE COLLECTED EARLY IN THE FRESHMEN YEAR, AND AGAIN 2.5 YEARS LATER. FOLLOWUP DATA WERE OBTAINED FOR 834 OF THE STUDENTS. THE ANALYSIS ENCOMPASSES RELATIONSHIPS AMONG DRUG USE, CLARITY OF OCCUPATIONAL GOALS, AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO INDICATE THAT THE GENERALLY MODERATE PATTERNS OF DRUG USE PREVALENT IN THE COLLEGE SETTING HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES, INDEPENDENT OF OTHER CHARACTERISTICS, FOR ACADEMIC AND CAREER PROGRESS. THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, THAT DRUG USE HAS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES FOR SUBGROUPS OF CONTINUING USERS OF MULTIPLE DRUGS. THERE IS NO STATISTICALLY CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT USING ONLY MARIHUANA HAS ANY ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES. FOR MOST USERS, DRUG USE, LIKE ALCOHOL USE, APPEARS TO BE A SOCIAL RATHER THAN A PATHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON. ONE METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATION OF THE FINDINGS IS THAT DRUG RESEARCH, BY FOCUSING ATTENTION ON DRUG USERS, MAY TEND TO OVERLOOK IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF NONUSERS WHO, IN SOME SOCIAL SETTINGS, REPRESENT A DEVIANT SUBCULTURE. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)