IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/evarev/v22y1998i1p118-146.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Irrelevance of Evidence in the Development of School-Based Drug Prevention Policy, 1986-1996

Author

Listed:
  • D.M. Gorman

    (Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey)

Abstract

This article examines developments in school-based drug prevention policy and programming since the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Using data from national surveys and evaluations of school-based programs, it argues, first, that there was really no need for a massive infusion of money into school-based drug prevention in the late 1980s, and, second, that there was little or no evidence to indicate that a "new generation" of effective programs, based on the so-called social influence model, was emerging at this time. Despite the infusion ofresources into school- based prevention efforts, adolescent drug use has risen in recent years. Moreover, evaluations continue to show that the effectiveness of social influence programs is very much in the eye of the beholder. Fundamental questions need to be asked of school-based drug prevention—just as they should be asked of other key components of our current drug control policy .

Suggested Citation

  • D.M. Gorman, 1998. "The Irrelevance of Evidence in the Development of School-Based Drug Prevention Policy, 1986-1996," Evaluation Review, , vol. 22(1), pages 118-146, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:22:y:1998:i:1:p:118-146
    DOI: 10.1177/0193841X9802200106
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193841X9802200106
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0193841X9802200106?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ellickson, P.L. & Bell, R.M. & McGuigan, K., 1993. "Preventing adolescent drug use: Long-term results of a junior high program," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 83(6), pages 856-861.
    2. Gorman, D.M., 1994. "Preventing adolescent drug use: the effectiveness of Project ALERT," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(3), pages 500-501.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gorman, D. M., 2002. "Defining and operationalizing `research-based' prevention: a critique (with case studies) of the US Department of Education's Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Exemplary Programs," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 295-302, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gorman, Dennis M. & Conde, Eugenia, 2010. "The making of evidence-based practice: The case of Project ALERT," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 214-222, February.
    2. Allison Gruner Gandhi & Erin Murphy-Graham & Anthony Petrosino & Sara Schwartz Chrismer & Carol H. Weiss, 2007. "The Devil Is in the Details," Evaluation Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 43-74, February.
    3. Ji Yan & Sally Brocksen, 2013. "Adolescent risk perception, substance use, and educational attainment," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(8), pages 1037-1055, September.
    4. Gorman, D. M., 2002. "Defining and operationalizing `research-based' prevention: a critique (with case studies) of the US Department of Education's Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Exemplary Programs," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 295-302, August.
    5. Dana L. Wenter, MPH & Sondra Blackwell, MEd & Kevin C. Davis, MA & Matthew C. Farrelly, PhD, 2002. "American Legacy Foundation, Using Multiple Strategies in Tobacco Use Prevention Education," University of California at San Francisco, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education qt6bk9b677, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UC San Francisco.
    6. Sechrest, Lee & Sidani, Souraya, 1995. "Quantitative and qualitative methods: : Is There an Alternative?," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 77-87.
    7. Beau Kilmer & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, 2010. "Preventing Drug Use," NBER Chapters, in: Targeting Investments in Children: Fighting Poverty When Resources Are Limited, pages 181-220, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Katarzyna Jóźwiak & Mirjam Moerbeek, 2012. "Power Analysis for Trials With Discrete-Time Survival Endpoints," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 37(5), pages 630-654, October.
    9. Brian Gill & P. Mike Timpane & Karen E. Ross & Dominic J. Brewer & Kevin Booker, "undated". "Rhetoric Versus Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 89d65ce14efd402a9de58cf93, Mathematica Policy Research.
    10. repec:mpr:mprres:5572 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Dennis M. Gorman & J. Charles Huber Jr, 2009. "The Social Construction of ``Evidence-Based'' Drug Prevention Programs," Evaluation Review, , vol. 33(4), pages 396-414, August.
    12. Barber, James G. & Bolitho, Floyd & Bertrand, Lorne D., 1999. "Intrapersonal versus peer group predictors of adolescent drug use," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 565-579, July.
    13. Steven A. Gilham & Wayne L. Lucas & David Sivewright, 1997. "The Impact of Drug Education and Prevention Programs," Evaluation Review, , vol. 21(5), pages 589-613, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:22:y:1998:i:1:p:118-146. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.