ABSTRACT
Drug use prevention program s are difficult to evaluate because of th reats to validity such as history, m aturation , pretest sensitization, im perfect m easurem ent, a ttrition , and faulty statistical analyses. W hen
evaluating the im pact o f d ru g education program s, it would be useful to em ploy an analytic technique that can explicitly account for, m odel, and m easure the rapid growth and developm ental changes occurring am ong youth in both experim ental and control groups. Changes in youngsters after a d ru g education intervention may have nothing to do with the program . Conversely, a lack o f change in d rug attitudes and behaviors may reflect historical trends in society o r m atu ra tion o f the individual young person. F urtherm ore, even the act o f pre-testing youngsters before they en ter a d ru g p rog ram may sensitize them to the m aterial that will be forthcom ing.
