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Youth's Perceptions Of Social And Cultural Dimensions Of Drug Use, Brett Joseph Casper

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores youth's perceptions and understanding of the social phenomenon of drugs in our society. Sixty-four students (32 fourth graders and 32 eleventh graders), selected from schools in the Portland Public School District participated individually in a one hour interview where they responded to open ended questions that probed for their perceptions of drug use. Participants were also asked to describe their feelings regarding anti-drug messages they view in the media and their comments regarding the "Just Say NO" program. The tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and half were used to develop a code that captured recurring themes in the …