Dr. Slater's research supports teen anti-drug campaign

The federal anti-drug campaign “Above the Influence” appears to have effectively reduced marijuana use by teenagers, new research shows.

A study, led by School of Communication professor Michael Slater, of more than 3,000 students in 20 communities nationwide, found that by the end of 8th grade, 12 percent of those who had not reported having seen the campaign took up marijuana use compared to only 8 percent among students who had reported familiarity with the campaign.

The researchers said they believe this is the first independent study to find evidence for the effectiveness of the “Above the Influence” campaign, which was initially funded at nearly $200 million a year when it began in 2005.

Evidence for the success of “Above the Influence” is especially heartening because the primary independent evaluation of its predecessor campaign, “My Anti-Drug”, showed no evidence for success, Slater said.

“The ‘Above the Influence’ campaign appears to be successful because it taps into the desire by teenagers to be independent and self-sufficient,” Slater said.

For example, one television ad in the campaign ends with the line “Getting messed up is just another way of leaving yourself behind.”

Campaigns that only emphasize the risk of drug use may not be effective with many teens.

“We know that many teenagers are not risk avoidant, and consider the risks of marijuana to be modest. A campaign that merely emphasizes already-familiar risks of marijuana probably won’t reach the teens who are most likely to experiment with drugs,” he said.

Frank Lawrence of Penn State University, Linda Stanley of Colorado State University and Maria Leonora G. Comello of the University of North Carolina co-authored the study, which was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The study appears in the March 2011 issue of the journal Prevention Science.