2003 Primary Prevention Awareness, Attitude, and Use Survey

Sources of Information for Prevention Topics

(PPAAUS items 106-112, 8 & 9)

Effects
An average of 74 percent of the Franklin County middle-school students and 68 percent of the high-school students had learned about the effects of using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs from a D.A.R.E. officer. Thirty-eight percent of the sixth through eighth graders and 61 percent of the ninth through twelfth graders had learned about the effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs from a health teacher; ten percent and ten percent respectively from a guidance counselor. Parents were a source of information about the effects of substances for 48 percent of the middle-school students and 58 percent of the high-school students. An average of 19 percent of all students indicated that they had learned about the effects of substances from a source other than D.A.R.E., a health teacher, a guidance counselor, or a parent.

Decision Making
An average of 39 percent of the sixth through eighth graders had been taught about how to make decisions by a D.A.R.E. officer, 20 percent by a health teacher, and 16 percent by a guidance counselor. Twenty-nine percent of the high-school students had learned decision-making skills from a D.A.R.E. officer, 27 percent from a health teacher, and 19 percent from a guidance counselor. An average of 67 percent of the middle-school students and 76 percent of the high-school students had been taught how to make decisions by their parents. Twenty-one percent of all students said someone other than the four previously mentioned sources had taught them decision-making skills.

(PPAAUS items 8 & 9) An average of 81 percent of the Franklin County students in grades six through eight and 62 percent in grades nine through twelve responded with Often or Always to this statement: “When I do something, I think how my family would be hurt or angry if I were caught using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.” Seventy-nine percent of the middle-school students and 60 percent of the high-school students are Often or Always “influenced by strong family values against the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.”

Assertiveness
Thirty percent of the students in grades six through eight and 21 percent in grades nine through twelve had been taught by a D.A.R.E. officer how to stand up for what they believe. Ten percent and 14 percent respectively were taught assertiveness by a health teacher; 13 percent and 11 percent by a guidance counselor; and 69 percent and 74 percent by parents. An average of 27 percent of all students learned assertiveness from a source other than a D.A.R.E. officer, a health teacher, a guidance counselor, or a parent.

Refusal Skills
A D.A.R.E. officer was cited as a resource for information about how to refuse offers to use drugs by 69 percent of the middle-school students and 62 percent of the high-school students. An average of 26 percent of the sixth through eighth graders had been taught refusal skills by a health teacher, 10 percent by a guidance counselor, and 49 percent by parents. An average of 40 percent of the high-school students had learned refusal-skill techniques from a health teacher, nine percent by a guidance counselor, and 55 percent by parents. Nineteen percent of all Franklin County students surveyed indicated that one of their sources for refusal-skill information was someone other than the four specifically mentioned sources.

Stress Management
Thirty-six percent of the Franklin County sixth through eighth graders and 14 percent of the ninth through twelfth graders named a D.A.R.E. officer as a source for information about how to deal with stress. An average of 31 percent of the middle-school students and 40 percent of the high-school students had learned stress-management skills from a health teacher, and 17 and 17 percent respectively from a guidance counselor. Parents had taught an average of 45 percent of the middle-school students and 51 percent of the high-school students how to deal with stress. Twenty-five percent of all Franklin County students reported that they had learned how to deal with stress from another source.

Getting Along With Others
An average of 19 percent of the students in grades six through eight and ten percent in grades nine through twelve had learned about making friends and getting along with people from a D.A.R.E. officer. Twelve percent of the middle-school students and 13 percent of the high-school students been taught how to get along with others by a health teacher; 19 percent of the middle-school students and 13 percent of the high-school students had been taught about making friends by a guidance counselor. Parents were named a source of information by 62 percent of the sixth through eighth graders and 62 percent of the ninth through twelfth graders. An average of 33 percent of the students indicated that they had been taught how to make friends and get along with people by some other resource.

Diversity
A D.A.R.E. officer was cited by 20 percent of the middle-school students and 11 percent of the high-school students as someone who had taught them “how to appreciate people different from yourself.” An average of 13 percent of the middle-school students and 14 percent of the high-school students had learned about diversity from a health teacher, and 18 percent and 13 percent respectively from a guidance counselor. Sixty-five percent of the students in grades six through eight and 68 percent in grades nine through twelve had been taught about diversity by parents. An average of 67 percent of all Franklin County students had learned diversity from a source other than a D.A.R.E. officer, a health teacher, a guidance counselor, or a parent.


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