More risk for at-risk youth: Deficiency in Texas school counselor substance abuse training.

摘要

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) (2001) reported the neglect of youth substance abuse in America's schools cost an average of {dollar}41 billion a year. The purpose of this study was to analyze relationships between school counselor substance abuse training received in their graduate preparatory programs with school counselors' attitude toward substance abusing students, treatment approaches and self-perceived competencies assessing substance abuse. Fifty-three percent of school counselors (SC) for students Kindergarten through grade 12 (n = 103), who represented over 30 different Texas SC graduate preparatory programs, reported less than a single course in SA training. One or more courses (or the equivalent) were associated with SC self-perceived competencies when assessing student substance. Two or more courses (or the equivalent) were related to SC treatment approaches when addressing substance abuse. In 2005, 62% of high school students (10.6 million) and 28% of middle school students (2.4 million) attended drug-infested schools (CASA, 2005). To assist at-risk students, they must first be identified; 95% of SCs reported that it was essential for school counselors to receive substance abuse training, yet 66.3% indicated their CACREP approved graduate programs offered less than a single course.