TEACHER RATINGS OF STUDENT RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE AS A FUNCTION OF SPECIALIZED TRAINING

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers' abilities to i dentify accurately students who are at risk for substance abuse can be improved through attendance at a specialized training program. Sixty- three eighth-grade teachers participated in the study. Of these, thirt y-six teachers participated in the training sequence (intervention gro up), while the remaining twenty-seven teachers served as a comparison group. All eighth-grade students in the school district were surveyed regarding their substance usage. Teachers rated the students regarding their risk for substance usage. Teachers' ratings and students' repor ted substance usage were compared to assess the percentage of matching responses. After training, the intervention teachers provided more ac curate ratings among usage categories than did the comparison teachers . The trained teachers were better at correctly identifying the studen ts who were at risk for substance use.