Table 1. Comparison of student drug use with other misbehaviors, vital outcomes, and educational and social measures

 

                                                                               Any                                            Other               Any                                            Other

Self reported drug use                                 drug                 Marijuana drug                     drug                 Marijuana     drug                 Cocaine         Heroin Marijuana

in previous year (1)                                      30-day            30-day            30-day            annual             annual             annual             annual           annual             daily                         

Marijuana, past 30 days                              .994**           1.000

Other drug, past 30 days                             .910**           .865**           1.000  

Any drug, past year                                        .984**           .969**           .922**           1.000  

Marijuana, past year                                      .987**           .980**           .890**           .996**           1.000  

Other drug. past year                                     .879**           .830**           .985**           .910**           .871**           1.000

Cocaine, past year                                         .674**           .618**           .837**           .746**           .692**           .899**           1.000

Heroin, past year                                            .005               .034                -.207               .022                .076                -.262               -.434               1.000

Marijuana, daily                                             .930**           .951**           .730**           .890**           .922**           .666**           .414                .234               1.000

Alcohol, past 30 days                                  .756**           .736**           .812**           .764**           .730**           .857**           .841**           -.511*             .544*

Cigarettes, past 30 days                              .511*             .582*             .185                .453                .517*             .136               -.079               .450             .632**

 

Self-reported behaviors in previous year (1):

Got into major fight                                    -.542*             -.562*             -.322               -.493*             -.536*             -.230               .064                -.604**       -.701**

Hit, injured someone                                   -.677**          -.664**          -.683**          -.650**          -.627**          -.692**          -.591*             .330                -.540*

Got into gang fight                                      -.801**          -.808**          -.680**          -.753**          -.760**          -.640**          -.379               .009           -.789**

5+ arguments with parents                        -.698**          -.713**          -.548*             -.649**          -.681**          -.465               -.171               -.358         -.784**

Committed arson                                         -.622**          -.602**          -.701**          -.646**          -.613**          -.755**          -.783**           .498*             -.424

Stole car parts                                                 -.098               -.085               -.041               -.153               -.172               -.011               .159                -.706**          -.186

Stole car                                                           -.729**          -.725**          -.684**          -.700**          -.697**          -.636**          -.436               -.006           -.663**

Broke into building                                     -.419               -.430               -.296               -.370               -.399               -.206               .096                -.521*             -.514*

Committed armed robbery                        -.732**          -.710**          -.769**          -.728**          -.706**          -.780**          -.638**          .252           -.613**

 

Self-reported victimizations in previous year (1):

Injured at school, no weapon                   -.153               -.185               .054                -.123               -.178               .146                .306                -.595*             -.379

School threat, with weapon                      -.448               -.454               -.305               -.510*             -.540*             -.289               -.210               -.522*             -.573*

School theft, major                                       -.780**          -.783**          -.749**          -.753**          -.741**          -.765**          -.699**          .386           -.657**

School threat, no weapon                          -.605**          -.633**          -.379               -.576*             -.626**          -.296               -.042               -.444           -.787**

School property damage                            -.362               -.384               -.188               -.369               -.405               -.178               -.117               -.267               -.503*

 

Vital outcomes in previous year (2):

Drug overdose death                                    -.015               .002                -.188               -.024               .018                -.235               -.410               .606**           .215

Suicide death                                                   -.730**          -.728**          -.602**          -.727**          -.750**          -.563*             -.295               -.435           -.811**

Homicide death                                              -.717**          -.684**          -.705**          -.789**          -.771**          -.751**          -.683**          -.125           -.622**

Firearms death                                               -.625**          -.596*             -.586*             -.702**          -.695**          -.627**          -.549*             -.273               -.579*

Teenage birth                                                 -.455               -.416               -.420               -.538*             -.534*             -.433               -.350               -.423               -.458

 

Crime outcomes (3):

Homicide arrest                                             -.650**          -.618**          -.617**          -.721**          -.713**          -.642**          -.566*             -.294           -.621**

Violent crime arrest                                    -.674**          -.639**          -.684**          -.728**          -.708**          -.722**          -.665**          .007                -.581*

Property crime arrest                                   .038                .065                .066                -.012               -.024               .089                .179                -.594*             -.093

Drug arrest                                                      -.047               -.009               -.286               -.046               .015                -.360               -.535*             .856**           .184

Total arrest                                                       -.480               -.436               -.583*             -.503*             -.467               -.621**          -.595*             .278                -.370

 

Education outcomes and youth conditions (4, 5):

Graduated from high school                     .121                .117                .188                .064                .035                .226                .225                -.606**          .014

Total SAT score                                            -.331               -.334               -.426               -.274               -.249               -.438               -.453               .742**           -.188

Student-teacher ratio                                   .770**           .788**           .701**           .707**           .705**           .701**           .555*             -.379            .646**

Child poverty rate                                          -.249               -.292               .015                -.220               -.279               .076                .297                -.618**          -.497*

Income, families with children                -.247               -.229               -.411               -.204               -.162               -.444               -.456               .743**           -.004

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

*p < .01     **p < .001

 

Note: No significant association with any type or frequency of drug use was found for the following self-reported behaviors: Delinquency (hit teacher or supervisor, shoplifted, vandalized school property, vandalized property at work, committed major theft, committed minor theft); victimization (suffered injury by someone with a weapon at school, suffered a minor theft at school); vital outcomes (all violent death); and external conditions (divorce rate and teenage unemployment rate).

 

Males, Mike, “What do student drug use surveys really mean?” Journal of School Health, January 2005, in press.

http://home.earthlink.net/~mmales/table2.htm

 

Table 2. Significance levels of weighted regression of student drug use in the past month with student self-reported misbehaviors, criminal arrest, vital outcomes, and achievement

 

Behavior index                                                                          B                                                 s.e.                                                   T

 

Students’ self-reported misbehaviors

in year, outside school (1)

5+ fights with parents                                                           -1.457                                       0.228                                        -6.22**

Got in group vs group fight                                                -1.889                                       0.507                                        -3.73*

Shoplifted                                                                                    -1.207                                       0.347                                        -3.46*

Got in serious fight                                                                 -1.459                                       0.441                                        -3.31*

Committed breakin                                                                 -1.356                                       0.475                                        -2.85*

Used weapon to rob someone                                            -4.103                                       1.593                                        -2.58*

Stole motor vehicle                                                                -0.303                                       0.168                                        -1.80

Committed arson                                                                     -0.288                                       0.172                                        -1.68

Stole car parts                                                                            -0.218                                       0.138                                        -1.57

Committed minor theft                                                         -0.181                                       0.116                                        -1.57

Committed vandalism at work                                          0.201                                       0.147                                        1.37

Committed major theft                                                         -0.021                                       0.121                                        -0.17

 

Students’ self-reported misbehaviors

in year, in school (1)

Threatened, no weapon                                                         -1.592                                       0.377                                        -4.22**

Threatened, weapon                                                                -1.838                                       0.478                                        -3.85**

Victimized by theft, minor                                                  -1.049                                       0.329                                        -3.19*

Victimized by theft, major                                                   -0.399                                       0.274                                        -1.46

Committed property offense                                               -0.162                                       0.115                                        -1.40

Injured, with weapon                                                             -0.119                                       0.112                                        -1.07

Injured, no weapon                                                                 -0.117                                       0.121                                        -0.98

Hit, injured someone                                                             -0.187                                       0.193                                        -0.97

Vandalized school property                                                -0.054                                       0.131                                        -0.41

Hit teacher                                                                                  0.089                                       0.123                                        0.07

 

Teens’ vital outcome rate in year (2)

Birth by teenage parent                                                         -0.083                                       0.014                                        -6.35**

Death by suicide/suicidal accident                                   -0.269                                       0.051                                        -5.29**

Death by certified suicide                                                    -0.287                                       0.061                                        -4.72**

Death by homicide                                                                  -0.085                                       0.019                                        -4.57**

Death by firearms                                                                    -0.037                                       0.009                                        -4.16**

Death by any violent cause                                                  -0.315                                       0.190                                        -1.65

Death by drug overdose                                                        -0.258                                       0.164                                        -1.57

 

Youths, criminal arrest rate (3)

Arrest for homicide                                                                -0.120                                       0.022                                        -5.56**

Arrest for property felony                                                    -0.103                                       0.026                                        -3.98**

Arrest for violent felony                                                      -0.386                                       0.103                                        -3.76**

Arrests, all offenses                                                                -0.215                                       0.123                                        -1.75

Arrest for drug offense                                                         0.053                                       0.168                                        0.31               

 

Social/education variables used in regression (4, 5)

Student-teacher ratio                                                              5.322                                       0.830                                        6.41**

Median income, families w/children                               0.011                                       0.004                                        2.81*

Child poverty rate                                                                    0.351                                       0.242                                        1.45

Divorce rate                                                                               -0.778                                       1.231                                        -0.63

Year                                                                                               -0.238                                       0.459                                        -0.52              

Teen unemployment rate                                                      0.116                                       0.191                                        0.61               

 

*p < 0.01    **p < .001

 

Males, Mike, “What do student drug use surveys really mean?” Journal of School Health, 75:1 (January 2005), pp. 451-454.

http://home.earthlink.net/~mmales/table2.htm

 

Sources for tables

 

(1) Johnston, LD, Bachman, JG, & O'Malley, PM. Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire responses from the nation's high school seniors, 2001. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research;2003.

(2) Kochanek KD, Smith BL. Deaths: Provisional data for 2002. National Vital Statistics Report. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; February 11, 2004; 52:13; Tables 1-3 and previous annual, 1970-2001. Martin JA et al. Births: Final data for 2002. National Vital Statistics Report. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; December 17, 2003;52:10; Table 4.

(3) Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United States 2002. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, 2003, Table 38, and corresponding previous annual tables, 1975-2001.

(4) National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2002. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, 2004; Chapter 2. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02_tf.asp

(5) U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office;2004:Tables 126 (divorce), 621 (unemployment), 684 (family income), and 701 (child poverty), and corresponding previous annual tables, 1975-2002.

 

Mike Males

Sociology Department

214 College Eight

University of California, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California 95064   USA

mmales@earthlink.net