Communities That Care

Posted on August 20, 2010

Levels of Risk, Protection, and Drug Use Predict Student Test Results

Research on youth development has identified risk factors (e.g., availability of drugs, lack of parental supervision, friends who use drugs) that increase the likelihood that young people will engage in drug use, and protective factors (e.g., supportive adult relationships, social skills, community recognition for prosocial involvement) that reduce the likelihood of drug use.

A study done by researchers at the University of Washington’s Social Development Research Group found that students in schools with higher rates of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use are less likely to meet standards on mathematics, reading, and writing sections of state standardized tests.  The study also found that schools were students reported experiencing more protective factors are more likely to meet those standards.

The investigators found that the levels of drug use, risk, and protection in Washington school buildings influenced Washington Assessment of Student Learning (a standardized test that was similar to Maine’s MEAs)  success above and beyond the influence of demographic and economic variables including students’ gender and race/ethnicity, students’ special education status, the percentage of students in each building enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program, and district level total student enrollment and per pupil expenditures.

The findings suggest that:

• Reducing the prevalence of drug use in school populations will increase students’ academic success.

• Reducing the levels of risk factors and increasing the levels of protective factors in school populations will increase students’ academic success.

•Schools should implement tested, effective curricula for reducing risk and enhancing protection among their students.

• Schools should monitor levels of risk and protective factors experienced by their students, and work with community partners to reduce risk and enhance protection in all domains of students’ lives.

This study provides strong endorsement of our local schools’ partnerships with the Five Town Communities That Care Coalition to reduce risk, increase protection, to implement or support tested, effective prevention curricula such as Life Skills Training, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, All Stars, STAR and Guiding Good Choices.

The authors may be contacted at:  Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, 9725 3rd Avenue NE, Suite 401, Seattle, WA 98115, Tel: (206) 685-3858 Fax: (206) 543-4507 Email: marthur@u.washington.edu

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