Gender, Grade, and Ethnic Differences in Student Attitudes and Perception of Harm Toward Substance Use

• NCJ Number: 195608
• Journal: Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 41-53
• Author(s): Eric C. Albers Ph.D.; Linda K. Santangelo Ph.D.; George McKinlay M.A.; Steve Cavote M.Ed.; Stephen L. Rock Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effects of gender, grade level, and ethnicity on youths' attitudes toward drugs and their effects.

Abstract

Nevada's Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse funded a 3-year demonstration program designed to test the effectiveness of community-based substance abuse prevention programs for students. A total of 829 students (357 females and 472 males) received prevention services. Of this sample, 6.5 percent were African-American, 17.7 percent were Latino, 14.1 percent were Native American, and 61.6 percent were white. There were 542 elementary age students, 66 middle school students, and 221 high school students. A three-item scale measured attitudes toward use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Another three-item scale measured perception of harm in use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. The study used multiple chi square analyses to examine any relationships between attitudes and perceptions toward drugs and gender, grade, and ethnicity. No gender differences were found for attitudes toward use or perception of harm in relation to alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs; this contrasts with findings by other researchers. Regarding grade level, high school students showed much greater approval for the use of alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs than elementary and middle school students. Elementary age students were much more likely to perceive cigarette smoking as very harmful; whereas, both middle and high school students' responses were dispersed evenly from "harmful" to "not at all harmful." No significant differences were found among the ethnic groups regarding attitudes toward smoking cigarettes; however, significant differences were found on attitudes toward both alcohol and drugs, with a greater number of African-American youth indicating approval of such drugs compared with the other three ethnic groups. No significant differences were found among the ethnic groups regarding perception of harm caused by drugs. The findings show a complex pattern of distinctiveness among ethnic groups regarding both attitude and perception of harm regarding substance use. The findings imply that substance prevention programs must be multifaceted in addressing the attitudes and perceptions of youth toward drugs. 6 tables and 38 references