TEENS SAY TESTING NO CHECK ON DRUG USE

OHSU - Survey results from teen athletes at 11 Oregon schools shock researchers

A controversial study about drug testing of high school athletes
found that such testing does not deter drug use.

In fact, the mere presence of drug testing could increase risk
factors for future substance use, the study by an Oregon Health &
Science University doctor found.

"It shocked us," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, who oversaw the study and
heads the Division of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine at OHSU.

The study, conducted at 11 high schools in Oregon, is the first
randomized clinical trial to assess the deterrent effects of drug and
alcohol testing on high school athletes. The results could have
far-reaching implications at high schools and in districts that have
embraced drug testing as a way to discourage teenage drug use.

"It's not that we were proponents or opponents (of drug testing),"
Goldberg said. "We're proponents for kids' health. So we thought it
was important to study the issue. Why waste money if it's not going to work?"

Oregon does not conduct statewide drug testing of athletes, but the
11 schools agreed to require their athletes to undergo random drug
tests -- conducted 15 times during the academic year at each school
- -- as part of the study.

When athletes tested positive for drugs or alcohol, their parents
were informed, and they were sent to mandatory counseling. If they
refused counseling, they were held out of play. They were not
otherwise punished.

The study based its conclusions on surveys of athletes, not on actual
drug-test results. It showed that reported drug and alcohol use of
drug-tested students during the month leading up to the test did not
differ from athletes at schools in a control group who were not
tested for drugs.

The two-year study also showed a decline in acceptance of drug
testing. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with
statements on a scale from 1 to 7, with 1 meaning "strongly disagree"
and 7 meaning "strongly agree."

When asked their "belief in testing as a reason not to use drugs,"
the control group showed a decline in average agreement from 4.5 to
4.1. The drug-tested group's agreement with the statement declined
more steeply, from an average score of 4.5 to 3.5, meaning they
believed less after the study in drug testing as a deterrent.

The findings of the study, which included about 1,400 athletes, will
be released today in the Journal of Adolescent Health. They arrive
amid the growth of drug-testing programs in high schools nationwide.
Last year, New Jersey began the nation's first statewide random
steroid testing program for high school athletes. Florida followed
suit, and Texas recently adopted drug testing as part of a two-year,
$6 million legislative mandate.

But even as states and schools have enacted such policies, little
evidence exists that they work.

Drug testing might even have a negative effect on athletes, according
to the OHSU study, dubbed SATURN (Student Athlete Testing Using
Random Notification). The study found that students who were tested
for drugs felt less athletically competent, saw school authorities as
less opposed to drug use and believed less in the benefits of drug testing.

Oregon has jumped to the center of the national drug-testing debate
twice in recent years. In 1995 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of drug testing of athletes at Vernonia High
School, 45 miles northwest of Portland.

In 2002, two years after the SATURN study began, students and parents
complained they were being forced to participate. Students at Dallas
High, about 15 miles west of Salem, filed a federal lawsuit. The
Office for Human Research Protections stopped the study, which was
funded by a $3.6 million federal grant.

Goldberg said the study was nearly complete when it was halted and
that he didn't think the controversy affected athletes' survey answers.

"I think they were pretty insulated from it," he said.

Larry Lockett was in his first year as principal at Astoria High when
drug testing began under the SATURN program. He said he and others
thought drug testing wouldn't change student behavior.

"Obviously, we had no evidence of that, but it was a belief that was
held by many faculty members, including myself," Lockett said. Still,
he said, "I always believed that it was worth finding out the answers
to those questions."

Drug testing of high school students has risen in recent years, even
as drug use among teenagers has been on a 10-year decline, according
to a 2006 study by the University of Michigan.

Goldberg and his fellow researchers, who included four other OHSU
officials and three researchers from Arizona State University,
recommended further study of drug and alcohol testing policies.

"I would be very leery about putting in a drug-testing program unless
you are actively evaluating it with surveys," Goldberg said.
"Otherwise, you really don't know what you're doing."

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THE HOWS AND WHYS OF THE OHSU STUDY

What's significant about the study?

It's the first randomized, clinical trial to measure whether drug
testing among high school athletes deters drug use.

Did the study measure drug use?

Not exactly. Though athletes were drug tested, the study's results
are based on surveys of athletes, not on their actual drug-test results.

Which drugs were included in tests?

Randomly selected athletes were tested for marijuana, cocaine,
amphetamines, opiates (including heroin), PCP, bensodiazepines (such
as Valium), barbiturates, LSD and alcohol. They also were tested for
anabolic-androgenic steroids, but only on every other sample because
of the expense of steroid tests.

Which high schools did the study include?

Schools that had drug testing included Astoria, Dallas, Scio,
Creswell and Monroe. Schools in the control group -- where students
completed surveys but were not drug tested -- were Warrenton,
Gervais, Silverton, Philomath, Sherman and Santiam.

What happened to athletes who tested positive?

Positive results were reported to parents or guardians, and the
athlete was required to receive drug counseling. Only if an athlete
refused counseling would he or she be held out of play.

Why was the study controversial?

Some athletes at schools involved with the study were required to
participate in drug testing, and a few said they felt forced. Some
students at Dallas High School filed a federal lawsuit, which was
settled for $90,000 in legal fees. The federal Office of Human
Research Protections stopped the two-year study a few months before
its scheduled completion.