Monitoring the Future-National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2009 Volume I: Secondary School Students

• NCJ Number: 232749
• Author(s): Lloyd D. Johnston, Ph.D.; Patrick M. O'Malley, Ph.D.; Jerald G. Bachman, Ph.D.; John E. Schulenberg, Ph.D.
• Date Published: September 2010
• Length: 773 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA 01411
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institutes of Health
• Corporate Author: University of Michigan
• Sale Source: National Institutes of Health; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: French; English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study is a series of national surveys of American adolescent and adult illegal drug use, alcohol use, tobacco use, anabolic steroid use, and psychotherapeutic drug use.

Abstract

Two of the major topics included in this report are (a) the prevalence and frequency of drug use among American secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades and (b) historical trends in use by students in those grades. Distinctions are made among important demographic subgroups in these populations based on gender, college plans, region of the country, population density, parents' education, and race/ethnicity. MTF results show that key attitudes and beliefs about drug use are important determinants of usage trends; thus, they are also tracked over time, as are students' perceptions of certain relevant aspects of the social environment, in particular, perceived availability, peer norms, use by friends, and exposure to use of the various drugs. Data on grade of first use, usage trends in lower grades, and intensity of use are also measured. Separate chapters are devoted to the following variables related to a number of licit and illicit drugs: grade of first use; the respondents' own attitudes and beliefs; and their perception of drug availability and related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of others in their social environment. Some of these variables have proven to be very important in explaining changes in use. Also discussed is the use of nonprescription stimulants, including diet pills, stay-awake pills, and "look-alike" pseudoamphetamines. This study presents trend results from a set of questions about cumulative lifetime marijuana use at a daily or near-daily level. The final chapter contains short synopses of several other MTF publications during the past year (journal articles, chapters, occasional papers, etc.). References are provided, some of which are available for download from the MTF Web site. Tables, figures, and appendixes