Chapter Pretest
Test your knowledge of this chapter’s material by determining whether the following statements are true or false. Be sure to compare your answers with the answers on page 306.
1. Youth in Western industrialized countries today have grown up in a setting in which substance use is a regular part of daily life.
2. The reasons why people used alcohol and drugs historically mirror the primary reasons people use them today.
3. Young club drug users often study drug use and plan their use of drugs ahead of time.
4. Harmful legal products are everyday products that are used or consumed in an effort to get intoxicated or high.
5. The patterns of drug and alcohol usage in the United States among youth are the same across all racial and ethnic groups.
6. Youth who engage in serious substance use and have problems with it are less likely to engage in serious juvenile delinquency than those who do not.
7. Due to the multiple stressors that LGBT youth face, they are more likely than heterosexual teens to engage in high-risk drug use.
8. Juvenile drug courts in the United States are based on a harm reduction model similar to their counterparts around the world.
9. Research has demonstrated that, to be successful, drug-related programs need to be sensitive to ethnic and racial differences and community norms and consider the community characteristics of the youth being served.
Discussion Question
Based on Kopak’s findings, what should a drug prevention program that addresses Latino youth entail? What do you see as the opportunities and challenges to the implementation of such a program?
Source: Kopak, A. (2014). Drug use among Latino youth: Two popular criminological perspectives infused with Latino culture. Sociological Compass, 8(3), 233–245.
Discussion Question
1. What other films show teens making choices about how to interact with neighbors who are involved in drug dealing? How are these teens portrayed?
Source: Dope. (2015). Directed by Rick Famuyiwa. 103 minutes. Open Road Films.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the benefits of mindfulness, or meditation training, according to the Mind Body Awareness Project?
2. How might familiarity with mindfulness techniques be helpful to youth both inside and outside of detention facilities?
3. What do you think the obstacles might be to getting kids who have gotten in trouble with the law to engage in a meditation-based program? What approach could an adult take to address those obstacles?
Sources: Himelstein, S. (2011). Mindfulness-based substance abuse treatment for incarcerated youth. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 30 (1–2), 1–10; Mind Body Awareness Project website (www.mbaproject.org).
Discussion Questions
1. Think about your high school experiences. Looking back, how did you see the war on drugs affect the way social control occurred at your school?
2. Did you make the connection between surveillance and social control measures at your school and the bigger context of the U.S. policy to have a “war” on drugs at the time? Explain why or why not.
Source: Williams, P. J. (2013). The war on drugs is a war on kids. The Nation, February 13. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/war-drugs-war-kids
Discussion Questions
1. Consider the patterns of youth drug use that are discussed in the chapter. Which finding surprises you the most, and why? Prior to reading this chapter, what was your impression of teen drug and alcohol use based upon?
2. Mainstream ideas about drugs and drug use fluctuate over time. Discuss current examples from popular culture (movies, songs, videos, popular websites, etc.) in which particular messages about teen drug use are evident. What messages are they sending?
3. The relationship between substance use and delinquency is a complicated one. Analyze the factors that can be related to both drug use and delinquency. In the event that you ever drank alcohol or used drugs as a teenager, consider how these various factors led (or did not lead) you to engage in delinquent behaviors. Or, did you find that engaging in delinquent behaviors led you to start
using drugs and/or alcohol? Explain.
4. In a few places in the chapter, we explain that the United States tends to take an abstinence or zero-tolerance approach to adolescent drug use and that some other countries around the world focus on a harm-reduction approach. What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of each approach to dealing with teen substance use?
5. One thing that can be said for young people throughout history is that they are certainly creative when it comes to getting high or drunk. What other everyday substances besides those mentioned in detail in this chapter are used by teens today to get a different perspective on everyday reality?
6. Review the various responses to drug use detailed at the end of the chapter. Which do you see as holding the most potential for reaching youth today? Why?
Chapter Pretest Answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. False
6. False
7. True
8. False
9. True
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