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A cross‐national comparison of school drug policies in Washington State, United States, and Victoria, Australia
Author(s) -
Beyers Jennifer M.,
EvansWhipp Tracy,
Mathers Megan,
Toumbourou John W.,
Catalano Richard F.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00011.x
Subject(s) - punishment (psychology) , harm , state (computer science) , abstinence , enforcement , political science , law enforcement , harassment , drug education , public administration , substance abuse , criminology , environmental health , medicine , sociology , law , psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , algorithm , computer science
Using mail survey data collected from primary and secondary school administrators in Washington State, United States, and in Victoria, Australia, this study compared aspects of the school drug policy environment in the 2 states. Documented substance‐use policies were prevalent in Washington and Victoria but less prevalent in primary schools, especially in Victoria. Victorian school policy‐setting processes were significantly more likely to involve teachers, parents, and students than processes in Washington schools. Consistent with expectations based on their respective national drug policy frameworks, school drug policies in Washington schools were more oriented toward total abstinence and more frequently enforced with harsh punishment (such as expulsion or calling law enforcement), whereas policies in Victorian schools were more reflective of harm‐minimization principles. Within both states, however, schools more regularly used harsh punishment and remediation consequences for alcohol and illicit‐drug violations compared to tobacco policy violations, which were treated more leniently . (J Sch Health. 2005;75(4):134‐140)