Evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign: Second Semi-AnnualReport of Findings

摘要

The number one goal of the program is to 'Educate and enable America's youth toreject illegal drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco.' One of the objectives in support of that goal includes 'Pursue a vigorous advertising and public communications program dealing with the dangers of the drug, use by youth.' Under the Treasury-Postal Appropriations Act of 1998, Congress approved funding for a 'national media campaign to reduce and prevent drug use among young Americans.' Pursuant to this act, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) launched the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (the Media Campaign). The program progressed through three phases of increasing complexity and intensity. The report focuses on Phase III, which began in September 1999 and is planned to run at least until 2003. An evaluation of Phase III is being conducted. This report provides six types of information: (1) a brief update and description of the Media Campaign's activities to date; (2) a review of the logic and approach of the evaluation; (3) statistics on the level of exposure to messages achieved by the Media Campaign in 16 months of Phase III; (4) evidence for change in the behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, and intentions of both parents and youth between the first two waves of data collection; (5) a description of the overall pattern for these outcome measures, combining Wave 1 and Wave 2 data with some examination of the differences among important subgroups of society; and (6) evidence for association of exposure and the outcomes, with statistical controls for potential confounders, to serve as a basis for a preliminary look at Campaign effects.