TeachME Professional Development

1. Given that substance abuse is a multi-determined major health and social problem, schools must approach the problem in ways that ensure staff:

2. For students who continue to find immediate satisfaction from substance use, it outweighs their concerns about risks, opportunities, and activities that are incompatible with substance use.

3. Evidence suggests that the majority of substance abuse likely reflects some degree of interaction between internal and environmental factors that are grouped along the continuum.

4. Typically, substance abuse issues arising from a substantial mismatch between an individual's vulnerabilities and their environment tend to range from moderate to profoundly severe, affecting various aspects of the person's life extensively.

5. The 2015 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of drug use and attitudes among American 8th, 10th, and 12th graders indicated each of the following EXCEPT:

6. According to the Partnership for Drug Free America, the top eight reasons why teens try alcohol and drugs are because of other people, popular media, escape and self-medication, boredom, rebellion, instant gratification, and:

7. Prescription and over-the-counter medications may have a particular appeal to teens because they are easily assessable and are often perceived as safe compared to street drugs.

8. Preventing substance abuse among youth requires an integrated, information-oriented and skills-based approach that includes strategies to:

9. Although some schools have initiated random drug testing and/or reasonable suspicion/cause testing, the only students who can be legally tested are competitive athletes.

10. In general, research pertaining to the utility of random drug testing in schools shows mixed results, and proposes that prevention problems should place a greater emphasis on:

11. Although some changes in mood, peer group, and eating/sleeping habits may be part of normal adolescent development, they can also be an indication of a developing substance abuse problem.

12. One way that school officials can help young people with drug use concerns is to encourage them to see a doctor who can screen for multiple issues and refer to treatment if necessary.

13. Research suggests that the most effective substance abuse treatments for teens are those that involve peers in group counseling settings.

14. The primary focus of research-based prevention programs is to intervene early in a child's development in order to eliminate risk factors immediately once a behavior problem has developed.

15. When focusing on enhancing protective factors and reversing or reducing risk factors, prevention programs should consider each of the following EXCEPT:

16. According to the authors, family bonding is the bedrock of the relationship between parents and children, and it can be strengthened through skills training on parent-child communication, parental involvement, and:

17. Prevention programs for general populations at key transition points, such as transition to middle school, can produce beneficial effects even among high-risk families and children, and because they don't single out specific populations, they can reduce labeling and promote bonding to school and community.

18. Preventative programs that use strategies to focus on interrupting drug use are known as:

19. A critical consideration in the prevention of mental and/or substance use disorders and related problems in children, adolescents, and young adults is that behaviors and symptoms that signal the development of a behavioral disorder often manifest one to two years before a disorder is present.

20. Environmental change strategies have specific advantages over strategies that focus exclusively on the individual, including:

21. To produce positive change, prevention practitioners must understand the cultural and linguistic context of the community and the populations, and must have the willingness and skills to work within this context.

22. One promising strategy in substance abuse prevention has been the creation of the DFC program, which has provided funding to communities so that they may implement approaches to meet their needs that are organized, data-driven, multi-sector, and comprehensive.

23. The authors propose that many factors influence whether an adolescent tries drugs, including personality traits such as poor impulse control and:

24. The brain is wired to encourage life-sustaining and healthy activities through the release of serotonin, and the "high" produced by drugs represents a flooding of the brain's reward circuits with much more serotonin than natural rewards generate, which in turn creates an especially strong drive to repeat the experience.

25. Exposure to stress in childhood primes the brain to be sensitive to stress and seek relief from it throughout life, which greatly increases the likelihood of subsequent drug abuse and of starting drug use early.

26. Compared to adults who use drugs, adolescents are:

27. In order the address the unique needs of adolescents, treatment must take into account the whole person-including his or her developmental stage and cognitive abilities, and the influence of family, friends, and others in the person's life, as well as any additional mental or physical health conditions.

28. Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement about the general principles of adolescent substance abuse?

29. The minimal length of drug treatment depends on the type and extent of the adolescent's problems, but studies show outcomes are better when a person stays in treatment for:

30. Racial and ethnic minorities have unique behavioral health needs, and communities of color tend to experience a greater burden of mental and substance use disorders, which is likely due to poorer care as well as higher social, environmental, and economic risk factors.