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The literature suggests that administering drug surveys to public school students is best done by persons outside of the school system (or at least unfamiliar to the students). This is the approach used by the long-time "Monitoring the Future" project. Because of the increased costs that administration by outside research associates requires (both time and transportation), we decided to design an experiment that would compare it to administration by school personnel. Six school systems were split, and 3756 surveys were administered, about half by outside research associates and half by school personnel. The results indicate that there were minimal and non-significant differences between the two groups. On the basis of these results, we draw the conclusion that school personnel are able to administer survey instruments without affecting the quality of the results and, thus, that school districts may safely use such data in the evaluation of their drug education and drug prevention programs. (Contains 5 tables.)

Argues that process evaluation is needed to validate prison-based substance abuse treatment effectiveness. Five groups--inmates, treatment staff, prison staff, prison administration, and the parole board--should be a part of this process evaluation. Discusses these five groups relative to three stages of development of substance abuse treatment in prison. (RJM)

Drug courts have provided a treatment option to drug addicted offenders for the last 30 years. While important evaluation work has compared graduates and non-graduates, it was limited to those individuals who either applied for entry or were actually admitted. Unfortunately, informal aspects of the entry process can result in differential representation of groups, a form of selection bias that makes interpretation of group effects difficult. The category of race is particularly important in this regard, both for its complex interdependency with other dimensions of stratification and because of its historical significance in focusing systems of social control. The authors propose that an understanding of race as part of a larger social context of opportunities, expectations, and resource allocation is necessary in interpreting both significant and non-significant research results for criminal justice programs. Based on data from 440 drug court participants (230 graduates, 210 unsuccessfully discharged) spanning over six years, results demonstrate ways in which the social context behind program eligibility and screening, including assessments of risk and motivation for change, may affect the racial makeup of program participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature suggests that administering drug surveys to public school students is best done by persons outside of the school system (or at least unfamiliar to the students). This is the approach used by the long-time Monitoring the Future project. Because of the increased costs that administration by outside research associates requires (both time and transportation), we decided to design an experiment that would compare it to administration by school personnel. Six school systems were split, and 3756 surveys were administered, about half by outside research associates and half by school personnel. The results indicate that there were minimal and non-significant differences between the two groups. On the basis of these results, we draw the conclusion that school personnel are able to administer survey instruments without affecting the quality of the results and, thus, that school districts may safely use such data in the evaluation of their drug education and drug prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the dimensions of the concept of control orientation with respect to substance-abusing behaviors as measured by Keyson and Janda's 1972 Drinking-related Locus of Control scale. Difference of the dimensional structure from the one presented by Donovan and O'Leary in 1978 for male alcoholics at a hospital in Virginia.

A comparison of the effectiveness of inpatient and outpatient services for alcohol and drug clients is presented. Controls for program completion and severity of substance use on entry to treatment are included. While inpatients do only as well as outpatients overall, inpatient services show significant advantage for particular classes of clients. Results, though preliminary, suggest that the recent call for a cutback in inpatient services is premature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]