Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification
Condition: Drug Abuse; Alcohol Abuse; Substance Abuse
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders; Alcoholism
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of drug testing on risk and
      protective factors of substance abuse among adolescents; examine whether drug and alcohol
      testing among high school athletes leads to reduced drug and alcohol use; and assess the use
      of drugs and alcohol among student athletes and non-athletes.
    

Detailed description: 
      This proposal is designed to address the increase in drug use among adolescent athletes by
      studying a school-based version of the random, no-advance warning drug testing program used
      by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). High school athletes are a large group,
      comprising 50% of their school's enrollment. They have a high rate of substance abuse
      behaviors similar to the general school population, and an even higher use of 'ergrogenic'
      (athletic enhancing) drugs. Recognizing the high rate of substance abuse among young athletes
      and their 'role model' effect on other students, the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld an
      Oregon School Districts' policy to randomly drug test students engaged in school-sponsored
      sports. Drug testing has the potential to deter adolescent substance abuse. It is
      gender-neutral, without ethnic bias and provides a potentially powerful environmental
      influence. However, despite its legality and theorized effectiveness, schools are
      implementing drug surveillance without the benefit of randomized, prospective efficacy
      research.

      Focusing on adolescent athletes provides a unique opportunity to study the prevention effect
      of drug testing. All sports teams in 24 schools who agree to implement mandatory testing as
      school policy but have never implemented this policy, will be randomly assigned by school, to
      three years of either: 1) random, no-advance warning drug testing or 2) a 3-year control
      period without testing. Selection of students for drug testing will be random, with no
      exclusions for having been previously tested. State-of-the-art testing will include physician
      specimen collectors under the direction of research physicians (PI & Co-I), who are Certified
      USOC Drug Surveillance Crew Chiefs, with specimen analysis at the UCLA Olympic Laboratory
      using the most accurate analytical techniques to minimize false negative (reducing policy
      integrity) and false positive (mislabeling students) results. Confidential questionnaires
      will be completed by student-athletes twice yearly to assess risk and protective factors for
      drug use and assess self-reported substance abuse. The role model effect of the surveillance
      program on nonathletes' drug use will be assessed twice yearly by anonymous survey. We will
      determine the effect of drug testing policy on: 1) adolescent drug use mediators, 2) actual
      drug use behaviors of student-athletes and their non-athlete peers, and 3) potential gender
      and demographic differences. Reliability of subjective questionnaire responses will be
      assessed by comparisons with objective drug test results. Study findings will assist school
      districts and education agencies evaluate, guide, and implement future drug prevention policy
      decisions.
    

Intervention name(s): Random, no advanced notice drug and alcohol testing
Intervention type(s): Procedure
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Drug testing; Adolescence; Student athlete; Substance abuse; Alcohol use; Drug use