By Eric Schaps and Daniel Solomon
Published in The Journal of Primary Prevention, Vol. 23, No. 3, Spring 2003.
Correlation and intervention studies of school environmental factors associated with student drug use and prevention are summarized. Major factors that emerge in the correlational studies are school supportiveness, sense of community, and opportunities for students to interact and to exert influence. Similar factors are involved in the intervention studies, with the development of a sense of community and attachment to school central, although the means by which these are approached differ across projects. A common conclusion seems to be that a supportive environment increases students’ attachment to school and thereby their inclination to abide by the school’s norms and values.