Youth and Drugs: Society's Mixed Messages
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 332 105 CG 023 362 AUTHOR Resnik, Hank; And Others TITLE Youth and Drugs: Society's Mixed Messages. OSAP Prevention Monograph-6. INSTITUTION Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (DHHS/PHS), Rockville, MD. Office for Substance Abuse Prevention. REPORT NO ADM-90-1689 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 182p. PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020) -- Reports - General (140) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; *Alcohol Abuse; Drinking; Drug Abuse; *Drug Use; Higa Schools; High School Seniors; *Mass Media Effects; *Prevention; *Social Influences; Youth Problems ABSTRACT This document examines societal influences that promote the continued use of drugs, considering how "mixed messages" are sent to U.S. youth regarding the acceptable use of alcohol and other drugs (ADD). It analyzes public and private sector policies, practices, and regulatory initiatives aimed at reducing and eliminating alcohol aad other drug problems. An introduction by Robert L. DuPont desribes the history of environmental approaches to the prevention of alcohol and other drug use. "Illicit Drug, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use Among Youth: Trends and Promising Approaches in Prevention" (Lawrence Wallack and Kitty Corbett) reviews the recent history of AOD abuse prevention efforts and concludes that a broad-based, comprehensive approach is needed. "On Drugs and Mass Media in America's Consumer Society" (Todd Gitlin) argues that drug use is a predictable consequence of U.S. culture's emphasis on consumerism and .mmediate gratification. "Stories That Hurt: Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs in the Mass Media" (George Gerbner) summarizes research on the interrelation of drugs and the mass media and offers insights into the conflicts underlying mass media messages about drugs. "Drug Availability in a Public Health Perspective" (James F. Mosher) focuses un the availability of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, contending that new regulatory and legal policies should be considered that address all levels of drug availability. The document concludes with an epilogue, "Creating Drug-Free Environments: Beyond and Back to the Individual" by Raymond P. Lorion. (NB) **tt*************************************************************ft****** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************w**************************** lausamisimppoilmrtriowilom1.mageot.#4 00.imposvo.*:,,tovi,00....44, Office for Snbstance Abuse Preventwn OSAP Pmention Monograp1i-6 4, YOMI AND DRUGS: SOCIETY'S 1 MIXED MESSAGES U.S. DEPARTMINT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research aml Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) re.This document haS been reproducd as received from the person or Organization uriginsling it o Minor changes have teen made to improve reproduction quality Points of yle* or opinions slated in this docte merit do not neteSSarily represent off.ciel OER1 position or policy / U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHAND HUMAN SERVICES dPublic Health Service Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration OSAP PreventionMonograph-6 YOUTH ANDDRUGS: SOCIETY'S MDCEDMESSAGES Editor: Hank Resnik Associate Editors: Stephen E. Gardner, D.S.W. Raymond P. Lorian, Ph.D. Carol E. Marcus, J.D. U.S. DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND HUMANSERVICES Public Health Service Alcohol, Drug Abuse, andMental Health Administration Office for Substance AbusePrevention 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland 20857 OSAP prevention monographs are prepared by the divisions of the Officefor Substance Abuse Prevention(OSAP) and published by itsDivision of Com- munication Programs. Theprimary objective of the seriesis to facilitate the transfer of prevention and intervention technology betweenand amongre- searchers, administrators, policymakers,educators, and providers in thepublic and private sectors. Thecontent of state-of-the-art conferences, innovative or exemplary reviews of programming models, and reviewof evaluative studies are important elements of OSAP's informationdissemination mission. The presentations hereinare those of the authors andmay not necest:arily reflect the opinions, official policy,or position of OSAP; the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Abuse, Administration; the Public HealthService; or the U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services. All material in this volume,except quoted passages from copyrighted is in the public domain and sources, may be used or reproduced withoutpermission from OSAP or the authors. Citation ofthe source is appreciated. Library of Congress Number:90-061315 DHHS Publication No.(ADM)90-1689 Printed 1990 OSAP Production and EditingOfficer: Timothy F. Campbell Project Officer Stephen E. Gardner, D.S.W. OSAP Prevention MonographSeries Elaine M. Johnson, Ph.D. Director, OSAP Robert W. Denniston Director, Division of CommunicationPrograms, OSAP Bernard R. McColgan Director, Division of Demonstrationsand Evaluation, OSAP Foreword This volume, the sixth in a series of prevention monographs of the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, examines past and present societal influences that have fostered the continued use of licit and illicit drugs by Americans from virtually every walk of life. The volume presents the analyses and viewpoints of prevention and communications experts on how "mixed messages" are often sent to American youth regarding acceptable use of alcohol and other drugs. It analyzes public and pri-ate sector policies, practices, and regulatory initiatives aimed at reducing and eliminating alcohol and other drug problems. In so doing, this volume attempts to provide balance to the public health model of agent, host, and environment by targeting the environment. Most prevention strategies have been aimed at informing, educating, and innoculat- ing the host or individual or reducing the availability of the agent or drug itself. Fewer have endeavored to modify the social environment and social norms. I believe that such efforts are one of the more promising areas for future preven- tion research and study. The information provided by this monograph may also lend itself to advancing opportunities for forming community partnerships, which I believe are essential for addressing such complex issues. This monograph continues to illustrate our commitment to the informed discussion of these critical issues facing us today. We hope that the knowledge contained within will stimulate new ideas and further efforts to seek solutions in preventing the use of harmful drugs by all Americans. Elaine M. Johnson, Ph.D., Director Office for Substance Abuse Prevention Hi Preface When the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) was created by Federal legislation in 1986, an important part of the office's mission was to provide leadership in developing comprehensive strategies for dealing with alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems. The concept of comprehensiveness has been central to OSAP's work since its inception. What is meant by "comprehensive"? To be comprehensive, prevention strategies need to encompass the whole community, not just one segment of the community. They need to focus on collaborative relationships among community leaders, or- ganizations, and institutions, establishing community norms of nonuse as the ideal. Comprehensiveness also means taking into account the complex etiology of AOD userecognizing the individual, family, peer group, and community factors that contribute to the problem and addressing a variety of these factors, not just one or two in isolation. OSAP's mission also includes a special emphasis on those individuals and groups in the community athighest risk. This monograph examines what has often been a missing piece of the puzzle: the broader social and cultural environment in which prevention programs are conceptualized and developed. Roland Warren, a sociologist at Brandeis Univer- sity, has helped to clarify our thinking about the environment by describing what he terms "horizontal" and "vertical" communities. The horizontal com- munity is what we normally think of when the idea of community comes to mind. It is the community beyond the immediate family in which people are influenced by individuals, groups, norms, and values that are physically proximate friends, neighbors, townspeople, and so on. The vertical community is one in which norms and values are established and communicated by individuals, groups, and organizations that are far away. Modern society is characterized increasingly by vertical communities. In establishing norms and values in the vertical community, the mass media and social policy (the focus of this book) play a pivotal role. The implications for the field of alcohol and other drug prevention are numerous. It is clear, for example, that the valuesand norms of the vertical community have contributed to the recent widespread decline of some forms of drug use and the growing awareness of the harmful effects of drugs as well as related changes in attitudes toward drug use. These changes h ave reached every corner of our society, and the verticalcommunityin particular the inter- relationship of social policy and the norms regarding drug use conveyed by the mass mediahas been an importantelement in these changes. Nevertheless, as the authors make clear throughoutthis book, the vertical community is hardly of a single mind about the issue of AOD abuse. The messages are mixed, and we are still far from having achieveda clear consensus about the problem and how to address it. This monograph was designed to openup