Precision Targeting in Prevention:

Research Capsules on Critical Hours and Critical Years

Research on Critical Hours

Increased Risk of ATOD Use

• A study conducted by the University of Illinois found that middle school youth who were left unsupervised after school two or more days per week were four times more likely to have gotten drunk in the past month, and three to five times more likely to use cigarettes, marijuana, and inhalants.
  Mulhall PF, Stone D, Stone B. "Home Alone: Is It a Risk Factor for Middle School Youth and Drug Use?," Journal of Drug Education 26 (1) 39-48, 1996.
• One study found that eighth graders who were left unsupervised for 11 or more afternoon hours per week were twice as likely to abuse alcohol or other drugs as those who were adult supervised. This held true regardless of family structure, sociodemographic status, other risk factors, and social influences.
  J.L. Richardson et al., "Substance Use among Eighth-Grade Students Who Take Care of Themselves After School," Pediatrics 84 (3): 556-566, 1989.
• A major study on youths' use of leisure time found that even a few hours per week of adult supervised leisure time after school was associated with a reduction in the use of illegal drugs. Youth who did not participate in any supervised after school activities were 49% more likely to use drugs as those who participate in even four hours per week of adult supervised activities.
  Students who reported spending no time in school-sponsored activities were 57 percent more likely to have dropped out by the time they would have been seniors; 49 percent more likely to have used drugs; 37 percent more likely to have become teen parents; 35 percent more likely to have smoked cigarettes; and 27 percent more likely to have been arrested.
  U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior, and Outcomes: An Analysis of National Data. Washington, D.C.: US DHHS, 1995.
• A study of nearly 4,000 students in Southern California found that eighth graders who are unsupervised afterschool are more likely to be associated with substance use, risk taking, depressed mood, and lower academic grades. Family structure and sociodemographic status did not have an impact on risk, but level of parental engagement did.
  Richardson JL, Radziszewska B, Dent CW, Flay BR, "Relationship between After-school Care of Adolescents and Substance Use, Risk Taking, Depressed Mood, and Academic Achievement." Pediatrics 92 (1): 146-148, 1993.
• In a study of extracurricular activity involvement by youth in 17 school districts in northeastern Ohio, 8th grade youth who participated in adult-supervised extracurricular activities after school used significantly fewer drugs than non-participating youth. The study also found that associating with non-using, pro-social peers was a powerful protective influence against drug use.
  Jenkins JE, "The Influence of Peer Affiliation and Student Activities on Adolescent Drug Involvement," Adolescence 122:297-306, 1996.
• A 1995 study by the Research Triangle Institute found that 8th- and 9th-graders who spent afternoons riding in cars, "hanging out" with friends, or otherwise unsupervised were much more likely to use drugs in the afternoons, compared with peers who participated in more constructive afterschool activities.
  Silvia ES, Thorne J, Tashjian CA, School-Based Drug Prevention Programs: A Longitudinal Study in Selected School Districts Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute and U.S. Department of Education, 1997.

  Increased Risk of Other Trouble

• Data from the FBI's National Incident Reporting System confirms that on school days, youth crime increases dramatically at 3:00 p.m., and that the hours between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. are when the greatest risk exists for both juvenile crime participation and juvenile victimization.
  Bureau of Justice Statistics, FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System, 1991-1993.
• Two recent studies found that youth whose parents both are absent from the home and who are unsupervised in the afternoons are significantly more likely to engage in sexual intercourse compared with youth who are adult supervised.
  L. Ku, F.L. Sonenstein and J.H. Pleck. "Factors Influencing First Intercourse for Teenage Men," Public Health Reports, 108: 680-694, 1993. Data based on the 1988 National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM).; John O.G. Billy, Karin L. Brewster, and William R. Grady. "Contextual Effects on the Sexual Behavior of Adolescent Women," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56 (May 1994): 387-404.
• Nearly 60% of all youth gang-related crime occurs on school days and almost all of that in the hours immediately after school dismissal. The hour between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm is the wort for gang crime and violence.
  H. Snyder and M. Sickmund, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1997 Update on Violence. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997.
• Youth also are at much greater risk of crime victimization in the hours immediately after school dismissal. Youth victimization of violent crimes (murder, assualt, robbery, rape, sexual abuse) increases dramatically at 3:00 pm, and nearly half of all violent crime against youth occurs between 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm on school days.
  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1995.
• Baltimore saw a 44% drop in youth victimization by violent crimes after opening after school programs in a high crime area. Juvenile arrests dropped 10% and the number of armed robberies dropped in half.
  Baltimore Police Department Division of Planning and Research, Juvenile Victimizations Comparison for Goodnow PAL Center Area. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Police Athletic League, 1998.
• On a typical afternoon, 750,000 youth aged 12 through 17 watch the Jerry Springer Show after school. The show features sexual themes, violent confrontations, and anti-social personalities.
  Neilsen ratings, reported in "'Springer' mania has parents worried," Washington Post, 27 April 1998.

Research on Critical Years

• In Indiana, nearly 60% of new regular cigarette smoking, and 70% of new regular use of most other drugs occurs between 7th and 9th grades. Inhalant use begins earlier and does not increase significantly beyond 9th grade.
  Bailey, WJ, et al., Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents: The Indiana Prevention Resource Center Survey-1998 Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Institute for Drug Abuse Prevention, Prevention Monograph Series 98-1, 1998.
  

• A survey of 4,406 youth in rural New Hampshire showed that most drug use begins between sixth and ninth grades, and that most children who are going to use drugs have begun before tenth grade. Increases in drug use after ninth grade were primarily increases in quantity, frequency, and intensity of use.
  Stevens M, Youells F, Whaley F, Linsey S. "Drug Use Prevalence in a Rural School-Age Population: The New Hampshire survey." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 11(2) 105-113, 1995.
• Hawkins, Catalano, and their associates found that youth who began using alcohol in middle school were much more likely to develop problem drinking patterns than those who started drinking later in life.
  Hawkins JD, Graham JW, Maguin E, Abbott R, Hill KG, Catalano RF. "Exploring the Effects of Age of Alcohol Use Initiation and Psychosocial Risk Factors on Subsequent Alcohol Misuse." Journal of Studies on Alcohol 58 (3):280-290, 1997.
• Data from the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey show that delaying the onset of alcohol use past the middle school years greatly reduces the likelihood of developing patterns of alcohol dependence or abuse. Adults who began drinking prior to age 14 were four times more likely to become alcoholics and three times more likely to abuse alcohol as were adults who started drinking after age 20. Delaying the onset of drinking even one year was protective. The odds of dependence decreased 14% for every year that the onset of drinking was delayed, and the odds of alcohol abuse decreased 9% for each year of delay.
  Grant BF, Dawson DA. "Age of Onset of Alcohol Use and Its Association with DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: Results of the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Study," Journal of Substance Abuse 9:103-110, 1997.
• A 1998 Columbia University Study showed that drug availability doubles between ages 12 and 13, and that ages 12, 13, and 14 are the most critical period in a child's exposure and access to alcohol and other drugs, with monthly use of cigarettes increasing from 2% to 15%, alcohol intoxication in the past month increasing from 2% to 21%, and marijuana use increasing from 1% to 34%.
  Back to School 1998 -- The CASA National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse IV: Teens, Teachers and Principals, New York: Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, 1998.