Original article
Middle and High School Drug Testing and Student Illicit Drug Use: A National Study 1998–2011

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.11.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

This study uses 14 years of data from nationally representative samples of U.S. middle and high school students in the Monitoring the Future study to examine associations between school student drug testing (SDT), substance use, and participation in extracurricular activities.

Methods

Analyses use questionnaire data collected from 1998 to 2011 from 89,575 students in 883 middle schools and 157,400 students in 1,463 high schools to examine: (1) the current prevalence of SDT; (2) SDT trends over time; (3) associations between substance use and SDT type, volume, or duration among the general student population or students participating in activities subject to testing; (4) associations between students’ beliefs/attitudes about marijuana use and SDT; and (5) associations between extracurricular participation rates and SDT.

Results

Moderately lower marijuana use was associated with any random testing of the general high school student population and for SDT of middle and high school sub-populations specifically subject to testing (athletes or participants in nonathletic extracurricular activities). However, SDT generally was associated with increased use of illicit drugs other than marijuana.

Conclusions

Because the study design is observational and the data are cross-sectional, no strong causal conclusions can be drawn. However, there is evidence of lower marijuana use in the presence of SDT, and evidence of higher use of illicit drugs other than marijuana. Until further research can clarify the apparent opposing associations, schools should approach SDT with caution.

Section snippets

Participants

Student data were obtained from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study (supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse), consisting of nationally representative samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students [13]. School data were obtained from administrators in MTF schools through the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) study (supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Both studies were conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (approval obtained from

Analytic sample

After limiting cases to those with no missing data on control variables, 89,575 students in 883 middle schools, and 157,400 students in 1,463 high schools remained for analysis.

Current student drug testing prevalence and trends

For 1998 to 2011 combined, 14% of middle and 28% of high school students attended schools with any SDT; rates for for-cause testing were 10% and 22%, and for any random testing were 6% and 10% (see Table 1). If any for-cause testing had occurred, the volume of students tested in the current year averaged 6 per school for

Discussion

Student drug testing impacts a sizeable proportion of U.S. students, with a growing number of schools implementing random SDT programs. The current analyses found that any for-cause testing was associated with higher marijuana and OTM use and lower perceived risk/disapproval of marijuana use. Yet, among students attending schools with any for-cause testing, higher for-cause testing volume was associated with lower marijuana use and higher disapproval. For-cause testing is based on appearance or

Acknowledgments

The Monitoring the Future study is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA01411), and the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) project is part of a larger research initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, titled Bridging the Gap: Research Informing Policy and Practice for Healthy Youth Behavior. Neither of the study sponsors had any role in (a) study design; (b) the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; (c) the writing of the report; or (d) the decision

References (22)

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