HIGH SCHOOL DRUG COUNSELING EFFICACY: DO TYPE OF COUNSELING
AND COUNSELOR DEMOGRAPHICS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Sue, Sue and Sue (1994) have noted that:
The misuse of psychoactive substances is the nation's foremost public health challenge. The use and abuse of alcohol, cigarettes, illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine, marijuana, etc.), and licit drugs (sedatives and tranquilizers) are by far the largest cause of preventable and premature illness, disability and death in our society. (p. 287)
The dimensions of the psychoactive substance abuse problem for adolescents are substantial. In this regard, Papalia and Olds (1992) report that about 77 percent of eighth graders have at least tried alcohol, 51 percent have smoked tobacco, 21 percent have tried inhalants and 15 percent have used marijuana. With respect to high school students, the authors state that over half have tried illicit drugs at some time.
While any one experimentive episode is not so bad in itself, the problem is that many of these young people will not stop there. Rather, they will go on to use and abuse drugs with relative frequency; and the effects will not only be harmful to them in adolescence but well into adulthood.
This validity of the foregoing claim is best seen in a study conducted by Kandel, Davies, Karus and Yamaguchi (1986) who performed a longitudinal study of 1,000 high school sophomores. All subjects were interviewed while in high school and then again at ages 24 or 25 years.
Findings showed that those who used illicit drugs in high school continued doing so as adults. In addition, when compared to non-users, users---as adults---were in poorer health, had more unstable occupational and marital histories, and were more likely to have been involved in some form of delinquency. Based on Kandel et. al's (1986) findings, it seems reasonable to state that to the degree high school counseling efforts can remediate drug use and abuse in ...