Effect of a Marijuana Drug-Education Program: Comparison of Faculty-Elicited and Student-Elicited Data

Abstract

This study examines (1) effects of a drug-education course upon the relationship between drug attitudes and usage and (2) the validity of attitude-usage relationships, through a comparison of data elicited by peers and teachers. Questionnaires given to students at the beginning and end of the course indicated significant shifts in attitude-usage patterns. For student-administered surveys, attitudinal shifts took place exclusively among non-users; for teacher-administered surveys, shifts took place among drug-users. Control course students displayed no consistent precourse-postcourse pattern. In response to peers, drug-users made initially accurate statements; non-users disguised their behavior until the postcourse survey. In response to teachers, non-users respond accurately while drug-users distort until postcourse surveys.