Why Are Student Assistance Programs Needed?

The use of alcohol and other drugs, particularly marijuana, is widespread among high school students. In California, by the 11th grade 63% of students will have used alcohol at least once¹, and 39% of students will have used marijuana at least once. While overall use rates have generally declined during the past 15 years, the portion of students using alcohol and other drugs at high rates has remained nearly constant.

Since the 1991 - 1992 school year the state-sponsored California Student Survey (CSS) has been used to identify two categories of high rate substance user - Excessive Alcohol Users² (EAUs) and High Risk Drug Users³ (HRUs). Trends in these two groups reveal the following:

High rate use of alcohol or drugs by California students increases significantly in the middle and high school years. Over the last decade, 11th grade EAU and HRU rates are typically between one-third higher and twice as high as 9th grade rates.
Despite the emphasis on substance use prevention in schools, the portion of students who report high use rates for alcohol or other drugs has been relatively constant; 2002-2003 EAU and HRU rates approximate 1991-1992 rates.
Excessive alcohol use is more prevalent than high risk drug use.
A substantial percentage of California secondary school students report that they are high rate users. Between one-sixth and one-third of 9th graders report either EAU or HRU rates at each of the CSS administrations in the last decade. More than one-third of 11th grade students reported EAU or HRU rates each year.

In sum, the CSS data demonstrates that high rate use impacts a substantial segment of high school students in California, and that the recent emphasis on prevention has not reduced the portion of students who use at a high rate. Consistently more than one-third of students in the 11th grade are engaged in high rate alcohol and/or drug use.

Use Rate and Problem Behaviors

High rate users have established a pattern of regular use of alcohol or other drugs that is strongly associated with problems in other parts of their lives (e.g., health, school, family, criminal justice, personal relations). The CSS data present strong correlations between reports of high rate alcohol and/or drug use and school-related violence, victimization, and poor school outcomes (e.g., skipping class, low school connectedness). School-related problems attributable to high rate drinking or drug use are associated with school failure or dropping out. Without appropriate intervention, this pattern of early high rate use is predictive of still more serious use problems in the future.

Implications for Prevention Approaches

School-based interventions are designed to help young people avoid the initiation of substance use and to provide the protective skills for avoiding use. However, current in-school prevention emphases are inadequate for youth who already use at high rates and are already experiencing negative life consequences because of their use. These youth represent the greatest individual and social cost of substance abuse, and they require interventions that are appropriate to the variety of risk factors and needs that make them vulnerable to high rate use. This level of intervention is best offered through an SAP type of service.

¹These figures are from the 10th Biennial California Student Survey (CSS) Table 9 Lifetime Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs.

²Excessive Alcohol Users (EAUs) are defined as youth who report a)drinking 5 drinks in a row three days in the past 30 days, b)was very drunk or sick three or more times in lifetime, or c)likes to drink to get drunk or feel the effects a lot.

³High Risk Drug Users (HRUs) are definted as youth who report a)weekly or more frequent marijuana use, b)any use of cocaine in the last 6 months, c)three or more occasions of the use of two or more different drugs (including alcohol) at the same time in the past 6 months (polydrug use), or d)a pattern of multiple or high frequency use of any illicit drug(s) other than marijuana or cocaine.