Troubled Teens Resources

Teen age drug abuse is a concern for many parents and most of these parents are hoping that their teen isn’t using drugs because they are part of a sports team or some type of after school program. We have all heard that kids who are involved in an after school activity are less likely to use drugs. Parents and schools have been tossing around the idea of drug testing student athletes and a recent study was conducted about drug testing student athletes. I am sorry to say that I do not think it would make a difference and this study seems to support my opinion.

“The two-year study was conducted in 11 high schools within 150 miles of Portland, Ore. Participating schools were randomly assigned to one of two study groups: schools that designed and implemented a drug and alcohol testing policy; and schools that had designed a policy but agreed to defer their policy drug testing until the study had concluded.

Athletes at drug and alcohol testing schools were at risk for random testing throughout the academic year. If an athlete tested positive for drug use, the results were reported to parents or guardians, and counseling was mandatory. Before the study began, voluntary consents were obtained from students and parents so that students could complete confidential questionnaires at the beginning and end of each school year. The questionnaires asked about alcohol and drug use and student attitudes about drug testing.

After two complete years, with surveys collected five times, the researchers found that drug and alcohol use during the month leading up to the test did not differ among student-athletes at schools with drug and alcohol testing and those with no drug and alcohol testing at any time point. Ironically, they found athletes at schools with drug and alcohol testing felt less athletically competent, perceived school authorities were less opposed to drug use, and believed less in the benefits of drug testing.
Random drug and alcohol testing does not reliably keep student-athletes from using. In fact, the mere presence of drug testing increases some risk factors for future substance use, Oregon Health & Science University researchers report. Their findings are published in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, the journal of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

(source)

K.D.