AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY DRUG USE 
ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 
SYSTEMS OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this 
dissertation is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory committee.
___________________________________
David M. Johnson, Sr.
_______________________________ ______________________________
Gerald Halpin Glennelle Halpin, Chairman
Professor Professor
Educational Foundations, Educational Foundations, 
Leadership, and Technology  Leadership, and Technology
_______________________________ ______________________________
Margaret E. Ross Stephen L. McFarland
Associate Professor Acting Dean 
Educational Foundations, Graduate School
Leadership, and Technology
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY DRUG USE 
ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 
SYSTEMS OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
David M. Johnson, Sr.
A Dissertation 
Submitted to 
the Graduate Faculty of
Auburn University
in Partial Fulfillment of the 
Degree of 
Doctor of Philosophy
Auburn, Alabama
May 10, 2003
Style manual or Journal used: Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association
Computer software used: WordPerfect 10, SPSS 10.0
iii
VITA
David M. Johnson, Sr., son of Travis N. Johnson, Sr. and Adella Pasterczyk
Johnson, was born July 22, 1949 in Dothan, Alabama. He graduated in 1967 from Carroll
High School in Ozark, Alabama. After 3 years in the United States Marine Corps he
attended Auburn University and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Biology. He graduated from Auburn University in 1998 with a Master of Education
degree in Secondary Science Education.
iv
DISSERTATION ABSTRACT
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY DRUG USE 
ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 
SYSTEMS OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
David M. Johnson, Sr.
Doctor of Philosophy, May 10, 2003
(M. Ed., Auburn University, 1998)
(B. S., Auburn University, 1973)
74 Typed Pages
Directed by Glennelle Halpin
Historical academic achievement data from the Alabama State Department of
Education and historical drug arrest data from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information
Center were analyzed to determine the correlation between community drug use, as
measured by drug arrest data, and academic achievement, as measured by scores from
standardized tests, across the state on a real-time, long-term basis. Real-time, long-term
was defined as the comparison of drug arrest data from a specific year to academic
achievement data from the same year. Also, the same data were analyzed to determine the
correlation between community drug use and academic achievement on a skewed-time,
v
long-term basis to determine any apparent prenatal effects. Skewed-time, long-term was
defined as the comparison of drug arrest data from a specific year to academic
achievement data 8 years later. Free and reduced price lunch data, an indicator of
socioeconomic status, were also analyzed to determine the correlation between
community drug use and socioeconomic status in order to see if socioeconomic status
might need to be a consideration when looking at community drug use and academic
achievement relationships. 
Results of the correlational analyses indicated a consistent low correlation between
community drug use and academic achievement as measured by the Stanford Achievement
Test Series, Ninth Edition, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and the ACT. Socioeconomic
status, as measured by free and reduced price lunch data, was also related to community
drug use. Results of analyses controlling for socioeconomic status showed a trend toward
diminishing positive correlations between drug use and academic achievement and a
reversal from positive to negative values. A logical conclusion, suggested by the results of
this study, is that increased drug usage in a community affects in some way the children of
those users and in turn has some detrimental effect on their academic achievement.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
vi
The author would like to thank the members of the committee: Dr. Glennelle
Halpin, Dr. Gerald Halpin, and Dr. Margaret Ross. The author also would like to thank
Dr. John Pritchett and Dr. Stephen McFarland for their support and encouragement. The
author extends special thanks to Betty Rogers, Connie Rogers Johnson, Mark and Cole
Johnson, Travis Johnson, Sr., and Adella Johnson, as well as other friends and family
without whom this project could not have been accomplished. Also deserving recognition
for contributions are Patsy Eiland from the State of Alabama Department of Education
and Carol Roberts of the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center for aiding in
providing information critical to this study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................1
Introduction
............................................................................................................. 1
Statement of Purpose
.............................................................................................. 4
Research Questions and Hypothesis .......................................................................5
Significance of the Study
........................................................................................ 6
Limitations of the Study
.......................................................................................... 7
Definitions of Terms
............................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
..................................................................... 10
The Effects of Parental Drug Use on Prenatal And Postnatal Development ..........10
The Effects of Parental Drug Use and Environmental Factors on Childhood
Development .........................................................................................................18
Practical Aspects and Educational Responses to Community Drug Usage ..........27
viii
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ......................................................................................34
Drug
Arrests........................................................................................................... 34
Student Achievement ............................................................................................35
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS...........................................................................................41
Trends in Drug Arrests 1988-2000........................................................................41
Real-Time, Long-Term Comparisons .....................................................................42
Skewed-Time, Long-Term Comparisons ................................................................
46
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................48
Conclusions ...........................................................................................................48
Recommendations for Future Research ................................................................53
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................55
ix
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: Total Drug Arrests in Alabama 1988-2000 ....................................................41
x
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted SAT 9
Scores and Weighted Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) Values, Real-Time, Long-Term ............
..........................................................................................................................................
..43
TABLE 2: Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted Average
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Scores and Weighted Average ACT Scores, Real-Time,
Long-Term
........................................................................................................................45
TABLE 3: Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted Free and
11
Reduced Lunch (FRL) Data 1998-2000, Non-Averaged, Real-Time, Long-Term ..............
..........................................................................................................................................
..46
TABLE 4: Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted SAT 9
Scores Skewed Back 8 Years, Skewed-Time, Long-Term................................................47
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
The use of illegal drugs in the United States and many other countries has been on
the increase for many years and the trend upward continues. This upward trend is most
apparent in heavily populated areas but is also being experienced more and more in rural
and urban settings. Small towns and rural areas are no longer exempt from the effects of
this ever burgeoning scourge (Villalva, 2000). 
A simple supply-and-demand economic process occurs: as the demand for drugs
increases, the monetary potential for drug suppliers also increases. As a result, the sale of
12
illicit drugs is a tremendously large and lucrative business. Many of these illicit drugs are
narcotics which are highly addictive. It must be noted at this point that cocaine and other
narcotics are seldom used alone. Many recreational drugs are quite often used with other
substances such as alcohol, marijuana, barbiturates, designer drugs, tobacco, heroin, and
others. It has been said repeatedly in the media that it only takes one puff on a crack pipe
to become addicted to crack, a processed cocaine product. Once users become addicted,
they become a customer for life, sparing no expense--mental, physical, emotional, or
monetary--to again capture that fleeting feeling of euphoria or to assuage the pain of
withdrawal (Nuckols, 1987) . Access to drugs in our society is exceedingly easy,
especially in lower income areas where the target customer population is relatively
captive. This captive population also may experience the hopelessness and helplessness
associated with low socioeconomic status and use these drugs to escape, albeit
temporarily, from their seemingly adverse environmental conditions, as well as use the sale
of drugs as a quick way to get a lot of easy money without a lot of work output. The
cyclical nature of drug use and poverty go hand in hand to continue to provide the drug
pushers with a steady stream of new customers willing to lie, cheat, steal, prostitute
themselves, and kill to attain their product. The resulting burden on society is astounding
and continues to grow. The crime rate due to drugs, the requirements of law enforcement
to try to control the problem or at least keep it in check, and the corruption caused by the
high profit potential are astounding and these only begin to tell the whole sordid tale
(Wallace, 1991). 
13
Drug use is not restricted only to low socioeconomic status. Affluence can also
contribute to the problem. Many young people whose parents give them free rein and the
allowance to support that life style often feel the need to experiment and experience the
drug scene either because of peer pressure, parental pressure, their rebellious ideals, or a
combination of these factors (Wallace, 1991). 
In addition to the human costs of drug use in the general adult population, the
financial ramifications of prenatal drug exposure are staggering. It is estimated that an
extra $4,100 (1989 dollars) is spent on each child suffering from prenatal drug exposure in
postpartum hospital charges. Substance abuse during pregnancy adds up to $22.3 million
to $125 million per year in extended hospital stays while the added cost of perinatal
cocaine exposure is between $33 million and $650 million per year. Also, substance abuse
costs child protection services about $10 billion per year, without looking at medical and
legal costs. The estimated cost to the educational system to service a prenatally exposed
child with significant impairments to the age of 18 years is $750,000. It is also estimated
that, just due to the subtle effects on IQ scores, an additional $350 million annually will be
needed for additional special education services (Ondersma, Simpson, Brestan, & Ward
2000).
Added to the financial burdens noted are many policy dilemmas associated with
prenatal and perinatal drug exposure problems. The issues of civil rights, societal biases,
and child protection collide when considering prenatal and perinatal drug screening. These
issues are handled very differently at federal, state, and local government levels and in
hospitals and hospital units as well. There is no standardization of practice. Child
14
protection services and the courts often must mandate drug rehabilitation and treatment
because drug addiction is seen as a crime; however, mental health professionals see drug
addiction as a sickness and feel it should not be treated as a crime. There is also the
dilemma of whether or not to remove a child from a home into protective custody when
substance abuse is known to occur. Does the overseeing agency do nothing and risk the
health and welfare of the child or act and risk the parent/child bonding and attachment
relationship and cause future, irreversible emotional damage to the child and even to the
parent? Another dilemma is the conflict of timelines involved in treatment programs. On
one hand is the child?s development timeline which reflects the infant?s immediate
developmental needs and, on the other hand, the addict?s recovery timeline which is more
long term and subject to relapse (Ondersma et al., 2000). 
An example of one such policy dilemma is a state law prohibiting child abuse, the
Illinois Abused and Neglected Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5/1-5/11.7). This act defines
neglect broadly, classifying any newborn whose blood or urine contains illegal drugs as
neglected. It then requires mandatory reporting by social and health care workers which
can lead to the parents being charged with abuse or neglect. When this mandatory
reporting occurs, physicians often take temporary custody of the child in order to
administer treatment to the child. Evidence of maternal drug use during pregnancy is also
reported. By doing so the physicians avoid culpability and, by invoking the law, gain some
measure of control over deviant parents, requiring them to enroll in drug treatment
programs or receive mandatory child care training (Heimer, 1999). 
15
Due to experiences in California with women using drugs during pregnancy in the
recent past, the Perinatal Substance Abuse Services Act of 1990 was passed. This act
provided for education, health, and social services; rejected criminalization; and halted the
practice of removing infants from their mother?s custody on the sole basis of a drug test.
Many prosecutors see prenatal drug exposure cases as unwinnable, while others see them
as temporary political assets to keep unwanted minority segments of society out of
predominantly White or Anglo communities (Humpries, 2000).
Statement of Purpose
Thomas (2000) discussed the lack of national educational policy on drug-exposed
children. This policy shortfall is the result of the problem being defined as a criminal and
social service issue and not an educational issue and as a result the actual broad impact of
community drug usage on academic achievement has not been determined (Thomas,
2000). The primary purpose of this study was to use existing data to determine if there is a
correlation between community drug use and academic achievement in the public school
systems of the State of Alabama. Also, if it can be determined that there is a relationship,
what is the magnitude of that relationship? A secondary purpose was to determine if there
is a correlation between community drug use and socioeconomic status and the resultant
magnitude of that relationship.
Research Questions and Hypothesis
Specific research questions addressing this issue were as follows:
1. What are the trends in community drug usage as measured by drug arrests in the
State of Alabama from 1988 to 2000? 
16
2. Is there a correlation between community drug usage, as measured by drug
arrest statistics, and children?s academic performance, as measured by the Stanford
Achievement Test Series, Ninth Edition (SAT 9) scores, and coincidently, is there a
correlation between community drug usage and socioeconomic status as measured by
averaged figures of free and reduced lunch participation in the Alabama public school
systems on a real-time, long-term basis? Real-time, long-term basis is defined as and
determined by correlating drug arrest data from a year to academic achievement or
socioeconomic data from the same year. 
3. Is there a correlation between community drug usage, as measured by drug
arrest statistics, and children?s academic performance, as measured by Scholastic Aptitude
Test scores and ACT scores in the Alabama public school systems on a real-time, long-
term basis?
4. Is there a correlation between community drug usage and socioeconomic status
as measured by non-averaged figures of free and reduced lunch participation in the
Alabama public school systems on a real-time, long-term basis?
5. Is academic performance, as measured by SAT 9 scores, in these same school
systems affected by community drug usage on a skewed-time, long-term, basis? Skewed-
time, long-term basis is defined as and determined by correlating drug arrest data to
academic data 8 years later to determine the effects, if any, of prenatal drug exposure. 
In addressing these research questions, the author hypothesized that there will be a
direct correlation between community drug usage and children?s academic performance on
a real-time, long-term basis and on a skewed-time, long-term basis. Also the author
17
hypothesized that there will be a direct correlation between community drug use and
socioeconomic status.
Significance of the Study
If a correlation can be shown between community drug use and academic
performance, the vast amount of resources being used separately to combat drug use and
improve academic performance could be redirected to address these issues more
efficiently. If the impact of drug usage on the education and successful integration of
future generations into society is significant, then policy makers will have a clear incentive
to attempt to eliminate or at least control the problem. This elimination or control of the
drug problem can be accomplished by the determined and focused cooperation of
individual members of society; federal, state, and local governments; federal and local law
enforcement; community educators; rehabilitation and drug awareness programs; and
school-based drug awareness programs designed to attack the problem vigorously. This
issue may also impact international policy on the control of the drug supply and suppliers.
If a correlation is shown between community drug use and socioeconomic status, then
existing resources can be redirected to more efficiently combat drug suppliers preying on
this particular segment of society. 
Limitations of the Study
The academic data used in this study were preexisting from established public
sources and may not be indicative of academic performance of other populations in other
states throughout the country. Also, the drug arrest data gathered for this study may not
be comparable to that in other areas of the country due to differing state laws as to what
18
constitutes criteria for arrest. The population involved in this study is limited to the public
school population of the State of Alabama from 1996 to 2001 and to those persons in the
State of Alabama arrested for illicit drugs between 1988 to 2000. Caution should be used
in generalizing these findings to other populations in different geographical regions of the
country.
Definitions of Terms
Academic achievement - Performance by students in the public school systems in a given
period of time as a measure of the quantity and quality of work done by those students.
The quantity and quality of work is measured by standardized examinations administered
to the entire student population and normed to that population.
ACT - A standardized assessment published by ACT, Inc. consisting of a battery of four
multiple-choice tests of educational development: English, Mathematics, Reading, and
Science Reasoning. ACT data are used in high schools for public relations, academic
advising and counseling, accreditation documentation, and evaluation studies. Almost
3,000 institutions of higher learning recommend or require the ACT from their applicants
and over 1 million college-bound students take the ACT each year. 
Community drug use/usage - Drug arrest records from 1988-2001 included statistical
information on adult and juvenile arrests for drug possession and sale broken down by
county for the entire state. The arrest data on possession and sale were combined to
produce a single number defined as total drug arrests for each Alabama county. These
total drug arrest numbers for each county are assumed to be a numeric indicator of
community drug usage.
19
Free and reduced lunch prices (FRL) - A program  administered by the National School
Lunch/School Breakfast Program of the United States Department of Agriculture. This
program is used by the Alabama State Department of Education as an indicator of
socioeconomic status. 
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) - A standardized examination published and administered
by The College Board composed of 4,200 schools, colleges, universities, and other
educational organizations that provides educational institutions with a measure of
American students? abilities. Currently, more than 2 million students of different cultural
and educational backgrounds take the SAT each year, generally in their junior or senior
year in high school. 
Stanford Achievement Test Series, Ninth Edition (SAT 9) - A standardized examination
published by Harcourt, Inc.  The SAT 9 covers domains of reading, mathematics,
language, spelling, study skills, listening, science, and social science. Score reports display
norm-referenced information at the cluster, test, domain, and battery levels. It is nationally
standardized and norm-based on 1995 spring and fall testing of between 500,000 and
600,000 student participants and more than 10 million students in 2000. The SAT 9
national sample is stratified by geographic region, socioeconomic status, urbanity, and
ethnicity. It is used by the Alabama State Department of Education as an indicator of
academic achievement and school performance.
Skewed-time, long-term - Comparison of drug arrest data from a specific year to academic
achievement data 8 years later. 
20
Real-time, long-term - Comparison of drug arrest data from a specific year to academic
achievement or socioeconomic data from the same year. 
Weighted average scores - Data achieved by taking the reported SAT 9 percentile rank
score and multiplying it by the second month enrollment for a given school systems for a
given year. The resulting factors for each system in each county were then added together
and the sum divided by the combined second-month enrollment of 1998 for all the systems
in each county.
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Effects of Parental Drug Use on Prenatal And Postnatal Development
An, as yet, undefined factor in this research is the effect on the children of mothers
who use drugs while carrying their babies inside their bodies. A report from England's
Department of health, 1998, shows that 90.7% of documented female drug abusers were
in the 15-39 year old reproductive age range (Thangappah, 2000). Estimates indicate that
1.1% of pregnant women in the United States (roughly 45,100 women) smoke crack
cocaine and that emergency services found one in three to six infants are prenatally
exposed to cocaine (Lang, 2000). In the United States it is currently estimated that
21
between 100,000 to 375,000 women abuse drugs during pregnancy, with the resultant
number of prenatally exposed infants ranging from 13 to 181 per 1,000 births. It is also
noted that estimates put the number of females of childbearing age using illicit drugs at
seven million (Ondersma et al., 2000).
The time of pregnancy is an evolutionary creation of nature, a time of development
into a human being. From the joining of sperm and egg, this 9-month period is critical and
essential for proper development of a human. The human body has a remarkable ability to
overcome obstacles of all sorts. However, some of the embryonic development periods
and processes, when upset by external environmental factors, have irreversible effects on
later development and adaptation. Newborns exposed in utero to different drugs may
appear to be developmentally and physically normal at birth; however, there may be
delayed developmental effects of the exposure. These effects may manifest themselves in
differing functional changes. Behavioral anomalies may only appear later in life when this
particular behavior is expected to mature. For example, organs such as the kidneys may
only exhibit problems as increased physiological requirements manifest themselves
(Mantovani & Calamandrei, 2001).
Kosofsky (1999) discussed a variety of infant outcomes such as spontaneous
abortion, stillbirth, birth weight, birth length, and head circumference noted in several
clinical studies from all across the United States. He also summarized several studies that
22
indicated that the influence of prenatal use of cocaine played a causal role in the
development of congenital malformation. Many of these researchers, however, did not
control for extraneous factors, thereby not conclusively supporting the independent role of
cocaine in the outcomes. Controlling for factors such as maternal characteristics, maternal
habits during gestation, and additional factors that influence maternal-infant interactions
are extremely important when trying to determine actual causal correlations. Several more
studies were mentioned in his research in which regression analyses were used to account
statistically for these confounding variables. As a result, the magnitude of the effect of
cocaine was found to increase, implying that cocaine has a direct effect on fetal
development. One implication of these studies suggests that the window of biologic
vulnerability of brain development may be early in gestation. The first-trimester insult, by
the mother?s use of cocaine, may be independent of second- and third-trimester effects on
fetal growth. Also apparent in several studies is the correlation between degree of
exposure to severity of outcome problems. In other studies electrophysiologic and
neuroimaging examinations were discussed which further supported the dangers of
prenatal cocaine use to the fetus and the perinatal child (Kosofsky, 1999).
Research accomplished by Bancalari (1991) showed that exposure to cocaine
produces abnormal breathing patterns in human fetuses. These abnormal patterns include
persistent rythmic, hyperneic, and regular breathing which may last up to 30 minutes.
There is some evidence which shows that accelerated lung maturation may occur due to
enzyme induction in infants exposed to opiods; however, the benefits of this occurrence
are offset by the increased risk of premature delivery associated with use of these
23
substances. Because many of the drugs used by the mother cross the placenta, the effects
on the fetus are similar to those in the mother. Intravenous injection of cocaine in pregnant
ewes has shown to increase maternal arterial blood pressure, with a decreased uterine
blood flow. The fetus also responds with increased blood pressure and heart rate. The
dramatic increase in fetal blood pressure is due to impaired placental gas exchange due to
the decrease in uterine blood flow (Bancalari, 1991). 
After birth the incidence of RDS (respiratory distress syndrome) is increased as a
result of exposure to opiods. Any drug that depresses the central nervous system increases
the risk of neonatal respiratory depression, especially if the substance impairs placental gas
exchange and the infant had become hypoxic before birth. Cardiovascular adaptation and
function have been shown to cause lower stroke volume, lower cardiac output, and higher
systemic blood pressure in cocaine exposed neonates. Also an increase in arterial blood
pressure and coincident increase in cerebral blood flow may increase the risk of inter-
cranial hemorrhage, especially in pre-term infants (Bancalari, 1991). 
There are many methodological difficulties in the evaluation of the respiratory
pattern and control mechanisms in infants. Human subject selection, compounding
variables, the related instrumentation, and analysis and interpretation of data are examples
of these difficulties (Bancalari, 1991). A fetus exposed to cocaine in the womb appears to
be affected in two ways: indirectly through decreased uterine blood flow and directly by
andrenergic effect. Cocaine also blocks the re-uptake of catecholamines at nerve terminals.
Use of cocaine close to the time of delivery may serve to increase lung surfactant secretion
and resorption of lung fluid due to increased catecholamine levels and may explain
24
improved respiratory status of these exposed infants. These short-term effects do not
impact, however, the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia caused by chronic
stress on the infant due to the drug use by the mother (Hand, Noble, McVeigh, Kim, &
Yoon, 2001). Brain proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging has shown an
increase in creatine in the frontal white matter which suggests biochemical alteration at the
cellular level in response to prenatal cocaine exposure. This phenomenon may reflect an
abnormality in energy metabolism due to multiple episodes of decreased uterine blood
flow to the fetus. Another finding is a decreased N-acetyl-containing compounds in the
frontal lobe or striatum which indicates neuronal injury due to exposure to cocaine (Smith,
Chang, Yonekura, Gilbride, Kuo, Poland, Walot, & Ernst, 2001). Other researchers
studying newborns found that after the newborns? first-day examination, the maternal
cocaine infant had a significantly lower cardiac output and higher stroke volume relative to
the newborn of non-cocaine using mothers. Blood pressure was also significantly higher
on the first day of life for the maternal cocaine- using infants versus the newborns of
healthy mothers. There was no significant difference relative to heart rates for the two
groups of infants on the first day.  Cocaine metabolites were also present in the urine of
babies who had cocaine-using mothers. On the second day, there was no difference in
blood flow or blood pressure between the two groups (Van de Bor, Walther, & Ebrahimi,
1990).
Bakeman, Brown, Coles, Demi, and  Sexson (1998) and Demi (1998) showed that
gestational age moderated the effect of maternal drug use on infant birth weight, birth
length, and ponderal index. Differences between these indices between drug exposed and
25
non-exposed became more extreme in later born infants. Compared to the direct affect of
gestational age, these moderating effects were weak. They also showed in their research
that drug-exposed infants were more irritable and scored lower on orientation than those
non-exposed. Gestational age moderated differences in irritability, with increased
irritability being more extreme in earlier born infants. Length of gestation was not
associated with scores on orientation, probably due to the time period after birth when the
infants were tested (3 days for full-term, 17 days for pre-term). The authors pointed out,
however, that the sample was not representative of all the premature babies born between
30 and 36 weeks of gestation due to the decision to examine only relatively healthy infants
allowing for a minimum of compounding variables concerning the health of the children
(Bakeman et al., 1998; Demi, 1998). However, in a similar study by Woods, Eyler, Behke,
and Conlon (1993), analysis of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
clusters (habituation, orientation, motor performance, range of state, state regulation, and
autonomic regulation) showed no significant differences between the cocaine-exposed and
non-exposed infants when tested shortly after delivery. The 1-month follow-up assessment
revealed no significant difference between the two groups of infants.  However, the study
showed a significantly higher level of self-reported depressive symptoms, using the Beck
Depression Inventory to assess the intensity of depression, among the cocaine-using
women than with women with no evidence of cocaine use.
In a study of infants, Bendersky and Lewis (1998) found that at 4 months of age a
significantly greater number of infants were less able to recover from a stressful situation if
they were heavily exposed to cocaine in utero. The findings appeared to indicate
26
independence from compounding variables such as environmental risk, neonatal medical
condition, concurrent maternal interactive behavior, and exposure to other toxins. These
data were obtained in a lab setting, and the authors did point out their reservations about
the possibility that arousal regulation deficits in these infants may be due in part to
extrinsic conditions such as cocaine using mothers being less consistent in their interactive
behavior outside the test situation.
Alessandri, Bendersky, and Lewis (1998) observed no significant differences in
cognitive functioning in cocaine exposed 8-month old infants as compared to infants from
similar backgrounds. The researchers controlled for effects of other substances but found
no difference between cocaine-exposed and non-exposed infants in habituation
information processing or response to novelty using the habituation paradigm. Also, at 8
months old, Mental Development Index scores in all three groups (highly exposed, lightly
exposed, and non-exposed) were within average ranges and compared well to at risk
populations with  the Bayley Scale of Infant Development. However, at 18 months, the
Mental Development Index indicated that those highly exposed to cocaine and high
environmental risk showed significantly worse scores. These scores indicate a ?threshold
of cocaine exposure for certain outcomes below which problems are not detectable?
(Alessandri et al., 1998, p. 571). Also, because more cognitively challenging measures are
used at this age, the effects are more likely to manifest themselves. High risk
environmental scores also related negatively to Mental Development Index scores at both
ages. The concluding results suggest that ?infants with a high level of prenatal cocaine
exposure are likely to exhibit difficulties in cognitive functioning? (Alessandri et al., 1998,
27
p. 571). Concurrently, low levels of cocaine exposure may have little effect, based on this
study. Similar findings on learning and emotional responsivity were supported in another
study by Alessandri, Sullivan, Imaizumi, and Lewis (1991). In addition Singer, Arendt,
Minnes, Farkas, Salvator, Kirchner, & Kliegman (2002) found that cocaine-exposed
children suffered a doubling of the rate of developmental delay and significant cognitive
deficits during the first 2 years of life. These delays are indicative of later school-age
learning difficulties.
In a follow-up study, Bunikowski, Grimmer, Heiser, Metze, Schafer, and Obladen
(1998) and Dow-Edwards (1989) found that there was a higher rate of mild
developmental retardation in drug-exposed infants than in the control group. They
determined that these prenatally exposed infants were at higher risk for psychomotor
development impairment. Also noted in the study was the fact that there was no difference
in developmental outcome between those children in foster care and those children being
cared for by their biological mothers (Bunikowski et al., 1998; Dow-Edwards, 1989;
King, Perlman, Laptook, Rollins, Jackson, & Little, 1995).  In a study by Arendt,
Ange1opou1os, Salvator, and Singer (1999), the motor scores of a group of children
obtained at birth and 2 years revealed poorer performance by the cocaine-exposed group
in overall ability. Fifteen percent of the cocaine-exposed group versus 7 % of the
unexposed group were classified as at risk on the gross motor scale, whereas 34 % of the
cocaine-exposed children versus 21 % of the unexposed were at risk on the five motor
scales (Arendt et al.,  1999).
28
There are many factors, such as maternal malnutrition and lack of prenatal care and
other unhealthy behaviors, that have influences on infants? development which are not
related to the use of drugs. Some factors that play an important role in predicting indexed
growth patterns of infants include pre-pregnancy weight and maternal weight gain, parity,
and ethnicity (Harsham, Keller, & Disbrow, 1994). Other factors include maternal-infant
interactions, maternal education, maternal depression/isolation, stress, home life, marital
status, social supports, and cigarette and alcohol consumption (Cook, Peterson, & Moure,
1990; Dempsey, Hajnal, Patridge, Jacobson, Good, Jones, & Ferries, 2000; Kosofsky,
1999; Richardson, Day, & McGauhey, 1991). Due to the high probability of multi-drug
use, including alcohol, concern for fetal alcohol syndrome also needs to be considered in
the effect of prenatal drug use. Alcohol has been proven to cause clear and irreversible
negative effects on the developing fetus. These effects include mental retardation,
neurological deficits, facial malformations, and growth retardation. Though very few
children demonstrate the profound deficits associated with fetal alcohol syndrome,
attentional and informational processing capabilities may still be affected to a significant
level (Ondersma et al., 2000). Children exhibiting fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol
effects may show such aggressive traits as hitting, biting, pushing, and kicking. They also
may be friendly and talkative yet acting on impulse, darting about the classroom. Other
traits are lack of memory, loss of concentration, or an inability to learn, with children often
forgetting their names and addresses if they can learn them at all (Duckworth & Norton,
2000; Jacobson, Jacobson, Sokol, Martier, & Ager, 1993). As one can see, there are many
compounding factors associated with causal determination of infant outcomes.
29
There does not appear to be a consensus among researchers about the actual long-
term effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine. However, there does seem to be evidence
mounting which indicates that it may lead to deficits in the children?s ability to adapt,
habituate, or regulate, especially under stressful conditions. Also, subtle differences in IQ
levels and language abilities occur which cause researchers to predict a yearly increase of
1,688 to 14,062 additional children falling within the range of mentally retarded according
to the IQ tests. Also predicted are 4,000 to 30,000 more children experiencing language
problems, both receptive and expressive (Ondersma et al., 2000).
The Effects of Parental Drug Use and Environmental Factors on Childhood
Development
In a study by Cosden and Peerson (1997) concerning the effects of prenatal drug
exposure, it was proposed that along with the physiological aspects, environmental aspects
play an important role in the development of the child as well. Risk for neglect or abuse is
higher for children living in homes where alcohol or drugs are used. Substance use over
time may impair a mother?s cognitive abilities and hamper her capacity to make important
decisions about her children and their welfare. Drug use requires time, financial resources,
and emotional expenditure, all of which are spent on the drug use and not on the children.
This family instability and the resultant chaotic and unpredictable family life can compound
any existing neuro-behavioral problems of the child, including the development of required
secure early attachments. Postnatal effects of parental drug use often is seen by many
researchers, especially in the child welfare profession, as a more appropriate focus based
on the high correlation between poor child outcomes and substance abusing parents.
30
Relative risk of neglect increases by a factor of 3.2 and physical abuse by a factor of 2.9
when substance abuse is diagnosable in a caretaker. Studies also have shown evidence of
substance abuse in 79% of the caretakers whose children were placed on out-of-home
care. Any child who exhibits special needs or experiences deficits due to prenatal exposure
is more likely to experience negative interaction when placed in a hostile or compromised
environment (Ondersma et al., 2000). The effects of parental drug use are many and
varied. Opiate and cocaine use by parents generally occurs in areas of poverty, and
because it is an illegal activity, it must be conducted secretly. This type of drug use is
associated with poor parenting, abuse, additional criminal activity, and exposure to AIDS,
overdose, and hepatitis. All of these factors have the potential to affect children?s
psychosocial development in a number of ways: by depriving them of proper and adequate
physical care, by impeding their socio-emotional and cognitive development, by
influencing them to become drug users themselves, and by increasing their need for special
social services. The social contexts in which drug-using parents raise their children expose
those children to a risky lifestyle associated with exposure to other drug users in the home,
absence of the parents due to imprisonment or sickness, immoral development caused by
the illegality issues, bereavement due to parental death by various diseases or overdose,
associated poverty, and lack of social support from the community, including school
(Hogan, 1998; McIntosh, 2002).
For maltreated children placed in out-of-home care, 79% were determined to fall
under the care-giver substance abuse definitions. Other important factors associated with
the impact of this phenomenon are the quantity, frequency, and duration of use as well as
31
the type of drug used (Besinger, Garland, Litrownik, & Landsverk, 1999). Studies in
several large states indicate that parental drug use is a leading reason for the increase of
children in foster care. Several states now have mandatory child maltreatment reporting
laws to expose prenatal exposure to cocaine. Research has challenged many of the
assumptions of prenatally exposed children and have shown that those children develop
well when exposed to competent care-giving in an appropriate environment. Conversely,
there is an elevated risk of poor development when children live with an addicted mother.
Many of the outcomes once attributed to prenatal exposure to cocaine have been shown to
be a result of compounding variables and shortcomings in the previous studies (Berger &
Waldfogel, 2000). Most longitudinal studies did find some long-run effects of prenatal
cocaine exposure including lower conceptual development, higher incidence of physically
violent behavior, impaired language development, and higher rates of depression and
anxiety. There is a good deal of controversy now as to whether child protective services
should intervene in cases of prenatal exposure (Berger & Waldfogel, 2000). Children
placed in foster care then reunified with their parents often return to foster care for a
variety of reasons. One factor, substance abuse, is a near-perfect predictor of reentry into
out-of-home care. Substance abuse in the family has been credited with a steady rise of
child maltreatment reports and, therefore, an increase in out-of-home care for these
children. The stability of reunification with birth parents is especially crucial to infants due
to their physical, affective, and cognitive developmental stage and their extreme
vulnerability. In many cases, the return to out-of-home care may be the only safe
32
alternative for the child; however, these cases present a very taxing burden on the already
overwhelmed child welfare system (Frame, Berrick, & Brodowski, 2000). 
A problem for child welfare workers is deciding when to reunify children with their
parents after an addicted parent has stopped using drugs. Cocaine addiction recovery is a
developmental process with five predictable stages: (1) withdrawal (0-15 days), 
(2) the honeymoon (16-45 days), (3) the wall (46-120 days), (4) adjustment (121-180
days), and (5) resolution (181 days and up). During all of these stages the addict
experiences various degrees of confusion, anxiety, depression, and risk of relapse. Many
addicts drop out of treatment due to the irresistible urge to use drugs again to combat
their discouragement and depression. Very important during the latter stages is the need
for recovering addicts to change their lifestyles and work on balancing their lives through
introspection and working through of past problems. Low income women, as compared to
their male counterparts, have more difficulty with recovery due to poor life-management,
limited vocational skills, past sexual abuse, limited social support, and/or poor coping
skills (Hohman & Butt, 2001). 
Mothers who abuse drugs tend to expect too much maturity in their children and
also tend to be unaware of their children?s developmental states. Recovering mothers feel
guilt and shame about their past behavior and may tend to overcompensate. As a result,
they may set unattainable expectations on themselves and their children, creating serious
emotional problems when these expectations are not met. Children?s behavioral and
cognitive problems due to prenatal drug use only exacerbates the problems of the recovery
process, thereby making the mother prone to relapse in an attempt to escape her guilt.
33
Often mothers may view and identify a child born during their addiction as a symbol of
that addiction and therefore view that child negatively (Hohman & Butt, 2001). 
Parenting classes, random drug testing, moves away from addiction-supporting
environments, establishing non-drug-using friends and support systems, and relapse
prevention plans are all practical aspects of an addiction recovery plan. Compliance with
court-ordered plans and being active in their treatment provides social workers with
evidence that recovering addicts are better able to care for their children (Hohman & Butt,
2001).
We cannot assume that drug dependence automatically results in an inability to be
a good parent or that a child?s development is necessarily adversely affected by parental
drug use. We do know, however, that drug abuse increases the potential for adverse
family outcomes. Chronic addiction results in time and attention being devoted to
accessing and using drugs rather then toward parenting. Drug users? households are
generally poor, unstable, and chaotic; and children in such households are at high risk of
maltreatment, neglect, or abuse (Barnard, 1999). Few resources are available to help
children who belong to families of drug-using parents. Often services that are available are
targeted toward the chemically dependent adult and not the children. Treatment of the
children in such cases is dependent on the parents? involvement in treatment. These
children often experience high levels of violence, loneliness, isolation, and chaos as a result
of their parents? habits and the resulting environment in which they are forced to live.
Group-based interventions designed to help these children offer opportunities for them to
be exposed to predictability, structure, and praise, which are often totally absent in their
34
homes. Also, these programs allow these children the opportunity to express themselves,
their fears, needs, and desires to some caring adult and to help them deal with the
overwhelming life problems they encounter every day (Dore, Nelson-Zlupko, & Kaufman,
1999).
Brook and Whiteman (1996) discussed parental drug use and the effect of parental
personality on the adjustment of children. Studies have shown that parents? personalities
affect their children?s personalities. The attachment relationship between parent and child
contributes to the development of the child?s personality and the child?s later identification
with the parent?s values. This attachment relationship increases the likelihood that children
will imitate the behavior of the parent. Parental aggression and parental drug use were also
found to affect toddler aggression directly by providing a model of aggression and
reinforcement of the child?s aggressive behavior (Brook, Zheng, Whiteman, & Brook,
2001) The implication here is that drug-using parents will produce drug-using children
simply by association and assumption of parental values and beliefs. A strong positive
family relationship may play a mediational role in the degree of behavioral and
psychological problems of these children. Many homeless street youths come from homes
plagued with parental drug use and often have histories of physical and sexual abuse.
Parental drug use is an important predictor of street youth moving into the use of hard
drugs and involvement in illegal pursuits including drug trafficking and robbery in order to
support their habits (Baron, 1999). Early display in children of noncompliant difficult
personality attributes may be a precursor for unconventional behavior and later drug use.
These unconventional behaviors remain relatively stable between adolescence and early
35
adulthood and interrelate with adverse familial and peer group drug-conducive behaviors
and practices (Brook & Whiteman, 1996). 
Close mutual parent/child relationships promote conventional behavior which
insulates children from drug use. Drug-using peer groups foster drug use in youngsters by
providing social reinforcement for the continued use of drugs. This social reinforcement
for the continued use of drugs is especially true for unconventional adolescents given that 
they tend to select drug-using peers because of the similarity in attitudes and values and
because they engage in similar behavior (Brook, Whiteman, Finch, & Cohen, 2000). These
factors support the cyclical nature of abuse and drug use. In addition, parental drug use
also has been shown to impact, directly and indirectly, the negativity and anger of children.
This anger and negativity are reflected by aggressiveness which is a risk factor in
delinquency and later drug use (Brook & Tseng, 1996). These factors also need to be
considered as compounding variables when combined with existing physiological
difficulties of the child.
Along these same lines, studies have shown that children?s internalizing behaviors
of social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem along with children?s
externalizing behaviors of aggression, inattention, conduct disorder, and poor school
performance are linked to parental drug and alcohol usage. Impaired cognitive functioning
of the parents due to drug and alcohol usage can correlate highly to impaired cognitive
functioning of their children (Fitzgerald, Sullivan, Ham, Zucker, Bruckel, & Schneider,
1993). These factors of behavior and impaired cognitive functioning do not bode well for
children?s proper development in elementary and middle school years. Antisocial behaviors
36
interfere with the learning process not only in learning assignments but also in peer
relationships. Failing, disliked, and antisocial children select social settings that maximize
social reinforcement. ?Birds of a feather flock together? may be an appropriate phrase
here because many times in schools children of commensurate academic skills are put in
the same classroom, thereby forcing or encouraging these deviant peer groups into closer
association. These associations may exacerbate the antisocial behavior and give
opportunity to shape new forms of problem behavior and discourage academic
engagement (Dishion, Patterson, Stoolmiller, & Skinner, 1991). This phenomenon is
shown to be positively correlated with poor parental monitoring and discipline practices,
one of the important results of parental drug use addressed earlier.
Added to this dilemma is another critical compounding factor: the onset of puberty
in adolescence. Early pubertal timing, developmental level relative to same-sex, same-age
peers, has been implicated as an important etiological factor in the development of
adjustment problems, psychological distress, depression and anxiety, eating disorders,
precocious sexual behavior, and early substance abuse. Decreased parental supervision
may allow increased opportunities for these early maturers to engage in non-normative
behavior. Rejection by developmentally normative peers may also reduce self-esteem,
impair school performance and social functioning, and further exacerbate the potential for
substance use and abuse. These problems are further complicated by the fact that attitudes
of urban and inner-city settings influence the impact of pubertal timing. The simple
increased availability of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in urban and inner-city settings affects
the likelihood of experimentation (Dick, Rose, Viken, & Kaprio, 2000). Many adolescents
37
view drug use as an intra-personal matter of individual discretion rather than something to
be controlled by society. High-drug-use subjects discount the harm caused by drug use
and treat it as a personal issue. High-drug-use subjects also see themselves as the only
authority when drug use comes into question (Nucci, Guerra, & Lee, 1991). Young
people continue to be vulnerable to persuasion to use drugs in spite of increased education
about drugs. Their knowledge of the dangers of drug use and abuse remains limited. Many
youth view their taking drugs as a way to feel grown up and to escape problems while
others take drugs to feel good, for fun, and for kicks. Those children who become
problem drug-takers may also be experiencing disrupted family life or have parents who
use drugs. Other children may be disaffected or risk-takers and may have started using
alcohol or tobacco, also known as gateway drugs, at an early age. Recreational drug use
has become widespread and often is accepted by non-drug users. In order to combat this
trend, young people should be given honest and accurate educational information at an
early age so they can make informed choices. This honest and accurate educational
information includes responsible coverage by the media and partnership programs
including the youth, teachers, parents, and others in the communities (Wright & Pearl,
2000).
Practical Aspects and Educational Responses to Community Drug Usage
As the cycle continues, we see more cause for concern about this problem. We
have looked at some of the effects of prenatal exposure to drugs, both physiological and
psychological, and have followed these effects into adolescence. Other research has shown
that aggression (a dominant characteristic of prenatal drug exposure) at an early age can
38
begin a cycle of maladaptation that may be manifested in school, home, and the
community. Maladaptation in school prevents children from learning important skills--
academic, physical, and social--which are essential to later life. These skills are necessary
for higher education and later employment. Aggression in individuals may prohibit
necessary successful interaction in the workplace and may contribute strongly to
subsequent long-term unemployment (Kokko & Pulkkinen, 2000).
Research on parental beliefs about their children?s abilities may also be a factor in
adolescent and early adulthood drug usage. Studies have shown that parents overestimate
their children?s capabilities. This positive view of one?s child enhances the parent?s self-
esteem and makes parenting more manageable (Miller, Manhal, & Mee, 1991). Also,
because of cultural differences, minorities tend to view intelligence and academic
achievement differently from the basic western, Anglo-American concept of intellectual
development and achievement (Okagaki & Sternberg, 1993). These factors also come into
play and may potentially cause the drug-using parent to feel less guilty about their own
parenting behavior and lead them to assume that their children have the strength and
ability to fend for themselves under any circumstance, if they care at all.
Children?s schooling also is impacted in that drug-using parents? values, time
commitments, and resource availability for their children?s education may be much less
than minimal. Support for the ongoing performance of a child may be inconsistent, causing
a subsequent lack of motivation on the part of the child or total dismissal of the values and
need of an education (Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994).
39
The practical matter of education, when dealing with this problem, is that there are
many children in our schools who suffer from varying degrees of parental drug exposure.
These children have to be addressed with the variety of services available in our school
systems. Many of these children resemble the stereotype image of this troubled population,
yet many others barely resemble the stereotype, and still others are indistinguishable from
the general school population. The same holds true for resultant behavioral differences.
There is a continuum from bad to normal in this diverse subgroup (Cohen & Erwin, 1994).
Teacher-assessed child behavior studies of prenatal drug and alcohol exposure have shown
a persistent biologic effect, which includes attention problems and delinquent behavior.
Also having a significant effect on behavior problems has been postnatal exposure to
violence and drugs in the home, irrespective of prenatal exposure (Delaney-Black,
Covington, Templin, Kershaw, Nordstrom-Klee, Ager, Clark, Surendran, Martier, &
Sokol, 2000; Delaney-Black, Covington, Templin, Ager, Nordstrom-Klee, Martier,
Leddick, Czerwinski, & Sokol, 2000).
According to a survey of early childhood educators by Kim, Sugai, and Kim
(1999) learning problems of children prenatally exposed to drugs included limited
attention span, off-task behavior, and less goal-directed behavior. The same educators
listed hyperactivity, impulsiveness, disruptiveness, and being easily frustrated as behavior
problems. Other problems included less responsiveness, lack of self-regulation, excessive
language difficulty, and a tendency to avoid physical and social contact. The educators
polled agreed that it is important to focus on the individual characteristics and needs of the
child rather than on his or her problems and other assumptions embedded in a particular
40
label. Systematic support will help these children acquire the necessary skills to cope with
the challenges of their environment and allow them to become useful members of society
(Kim et al., 1999). 
Research by Chapman (2000) supported previous findings that prenatal cocaine
exposure has a negative long-term effect on language development and that long-term
effect may persist. Because the language system is complex, consists of interrelated
components, and also operates as an interactive cognitive process, any disorders in the
cognitive processing areas caused by prenatal cocaine exposure can have subtle to intense
effects on development in other areas. Hampered acquisition of language skills is
associated with multiple learning problems that will emerge over time. Therefore,
disruption of formal or functional language aspects result in serious and diverse difficulties
developmentally. Receptive and expressive language difficulties were exhibited in the
prenatally exposed children studied. Additionally, some of these children, across age
ranges, had not exhibited language difficulties previously (Chapman, 2000). Expressive
language development has also been confirmed to be affected by prenatal exposure to
cocaine and other substances, especially tobacco. Cocaine-exposed children were shown
to be 2.4 times more likely to be classified in the low-language group compared to the
control group (Delaney-Black et al., 2000). Another study by Dixon, Thal, Potrykus,
Dickson, and Jacoby (1997) confirmed that prenatal exposure to stimulant drugs affects
early language development. In this study, significant delays of all aspects of language
development were exhibited by a sizable proportion of the children studied whose mothers
abused drugs. Many of the children studied were not being raised in the homes of their
41
biological mothers, but in foster or adoptive care. The statistical analyses of these children
showed that those children in the homes of the biological mother did significantly better
than those in out-of-home care. One might conclude by this finding that out-of-home care
provides less support for language development. Another possibility may be the severity of
usage by the mother, thus higher exposure for the child, which leads to having the children
put into foster care to start with. This study also showed increased delay with increased
age indicating that, at the stage of development of more complex sentence structure and
grammar, drug-exposed children have a much more difficult time. One explanation of this
phenomenon may be impairment of the brain centers responsible for organization of the
executive function by the stimulant drugs. This impairment is manifested by observed
difficulty in organizing linguistic structure into meaningful utterances. Other effects may
be due to damage caused by the drugs to neurotransmitters and attention and arousal
centers and neurostructural damage caused by utero fetal and placental vasoconstriction
(Dixon et al., 1997). 
Early childhood educators should focus on ensuring that the learning environments
for children exposed prenatally to illicit drugs be a small area or room and that programs
for these children be predictable and amenable to the children?s learning abilities.
Distractions from other people entering or leaving should be minimized. Daily routines
must be established that allows for self-directed exploration with adult intervention if
necessary to guide the child. Educators should work with other involved professionals and
work toward focusing on the individual child?s needs, with community-based, family-
centered solutions emphasized (Sluder, Kinnison, & Cates, 1996). 
42
Daycare workers also need to have a clear understanding of the symptomology of
children prenatally exposed to drugs. They should also have extensive training in dealing
with the various aspects of the problems encountered in order to meet the needs of these
children adequately. Effective and efficient intervention must be interdisciplinary and
comprehensive because the primary goal is to provide a stable environment and positive
interactions whenever possible in the lives of these children. The basis for future training
of daycare providers should include intervention practices, developmental characteristics,
collaboration requirements among different available services, developmental monitoring
requirements, application of pertinent research into the classroom, and reevaluation and
inclusion of best practices into the learning environment (Kinnison, Cates, & Baker,
1999).
Some possible classroom techniques which can be used to address this problem are
covered in an article by Mary Waller (1993). Techniques include removing distracting
stimuli from the classroom, limiting transitions, limiting different teaching styles, and
teaching specific social and relational skills. Many of these students exhibit random and
patternless behavior where learning has no beginning, no middle, and no end. They simply
can not relate things in many cases (Waller, 1993). It is extremely important to provide
appropriate early interventions for children prenatally exposed to cocaine. If early
intervention does not occur, learning and behavioral challenges may become more
problematic as the children age and these behaviors begin to manifest themselves as
inappropriate social behavior, hyperactivity, and impulsive violent tendencies.
Policymakers should take a number of steps including supporting allocations for funds for
43
teacher training focused on dealing with drug-exposed children and identifying and
tracking these children through the public school system (Thomas, 2000). Many of the
intervention programs are already in place in special education venues but in fact may take
away from the quality education of those not included in this population, especially if
inclusion is mandatory. As a result we are stuck with another quandary: How do we teach
these unfortunate products of their parents? weakness and stupidity and provide the best
education possible for the entire population of our school age children?
Neighborhood prevention and intervention services for children are potential
means of addressing the reduction of the rates of youth violence and drug abuse which
lead to future parental drug use in some communities. There are problems in establishing
these programs, however, among them being allocation of funding and the difficulty in
obtaining neighborhood volunteers. When the obstacles can be overcome, progress can be
made toward improving neighborhoods by designing activities to engage the residents,
providing pro-social recreational and educational activities, providing legitimate economic
alternatives to selling drugs, providing other sustainable economic activities, and providing
dedicated role models to help run these activities. The outcome of such a project will
empower the residents to address the necessary issues such as criminal behavior, substance
abuse, and other youth-associated antisocial behaviors. By having the youth of the
neighborhood prioritize the most serious problems and by collaboratively designing
appropriate interventions, there can be the necessary buy-in for success required by all
participants (Randall, Swenson, & Henggeler, 1999).
44
As stated previously, infants exposed prenatally to cocaine at higher levels are
likely to exhibit difficulties in cognitive functioning (Alessandri et al., 1998) and behavioral
adjustment (Kosofsky, 1999). Many of the subsequent behavioral consequences of these
phenomena have yet to be ascertained. Follow-up, long-term studies are needed to make
these determinations. As of yet we are still not certain what the long-term affects of this
prenatal exposure means to the maturing children involved nor do we fully understand
how these effects will manifest themselves in the classroom. With current restrictions on
privacy and other factors designed to protect the innocent, large-scale follow-up research
on these children is a very sensitive issue and is one that needs to consider the children and
the repercussions of exposure to such research. After all, the children are the victims in
this tragedy and not the perpetrators.
CHAPTER III
METHODS
Drug Arrests
According to the year 2000 United States Census, the State of Alabama has a total
population of approximately 4.45 million. This population breaks down to roughly 3.16
million White, 1.15 million Black, and .14 million other races.
Existing data on drug arrests were obtained from the Alabama Criminal Justice
Information Center in Montgomery, Alabama. These data consisted of drug arrest records
from 1988-2001 and included statistical information on adult and juvenile arrests for drug
45
possession and sale broken down by county for the entire state. The arrest data on
possession and sale were combined to produce a single number defined as total drug
arrests for each Alabama county. These statistical data are assumed to be indicative of
community drug usage; however, there may be compounding or spurious variables
involved in the reporting of these statistics which can be considered a weakness of the
study. Among these variables are such factors as inconsistent funding for drug interdiction
by different local law enforcement agencies over time, availability of adequate local law
enforcement personnel for various reasons (local funding, reserve military duty, natural
disasters, etc.), and incoming drug supply, just to name a few.
Student Achievement
The public school systems in the State of Alabama consist of 128 separate school
systems, both county and city, and is comprised of 1,341 separate schools. The total 2001
public school student population was 727, 248, according to the 40-day average daily
membership furnished by the Alabama State Department of Education. This public school
student population makes up roughly 16 % of the population of the state. Not included in
these figures are the student populations of private and parochial schools throughout the
state.
46
Existing long-term data on the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Ninth Edition
(SAT 9) were obtained from the Alabama State Department of Education databases in
Montgomery, Alabama. The SAT 9 test scores are considered to be a valid and reliable
indicator of academic achievement and are used as one of the primary measures for
educational policy decisions across the state. The SAT 9 covers domains of reading,
mathematics, language, spelling, study skills, listening, science, and social science.
Reliability is determined through internal consistency, alternate forms, and consistency-
over-time with reliability coefficients clustering around .90 for subtests and .80 for
content. The expert judgement of national panels of educators in each content area
participate in developing performance standards for the SAT 9. Score reports display
norm-referenced information at the cluster, test, domain, and battery levels. It was
nationally standardized and norm-based on 1995 spring and fall testing of between
500,000 and 600,000 student participants and more than 10 million students in 2000. The
SAT 9 national sample is stratified by geographic region, socioeconomic status, urbanity,
and ethnicity. Urbanity is further divided into urban, suburban, and rural. Socioeconomic
status is subdivided into high, medium, and low based on a composite of median family
income in the community and percent of adults holding high school diplomas (Harcourt,
2001). 
The obtained statistical information included SAT 9 percentile scores for individual
schools and school systems throughout the state from the 1995-1996 school year to the
2000-2001 school year. The reported percentile rank scores for each school system were
unusable in their original format because they could not be compared to the county drug
47
arrest data on a county-wide basis. The scores for each school system were averages for
that school system and could not be combined to produce a legitimate county average due
to the difference in population of each system. The system scores therefore needed to be
converted to a combined county weighted average of all of the separate school systems in
each county. This combination of data was achieved by taking the reported percentile rank
score and multiplying it by the second-month enrollment for that system for that year. The
resulting factors for each system in each county were then added together and the sum
divided by the combined second-month enrollment of all the systems in each county. In
order to make the computer calculation less cumbersome, it was decided to use a total
enrollment from a median year, and 1998 was chosen because the second-month
enrollment numbers for this year were relatively stable. These calculations were performed
for each grade level, 3-11, for each year reported. 
Three additional groups of data were also gathered from the same databases of the
Alabama State Department of Education: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, ACT
(formerly named the American College Test) scores, and the free and reduced price lunch
(FRL) data.
The SAT was first administered by The College Entrance Examination Board (now
known as the College Board) in 1926 to 8,040 students. The aim of the current College
Board, composed of 4,200 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational
organizations, is to provide educational institutions with an honest measure of American
students? abilities. Currently, more than 2 million students of different cultural and
educational backgrounds take the SAT each year, generally in their junior or senior year in
48
high school. Norms for the SAT are derived from these 2 million test takers each year. 
Reliability coefficients range from a low of .884 to a high of .949 depending on the subject
subtest. Validity is construct, content, and criterion related and based on the prediction of
freshman-year grades. The students? scores are used in admissions decisions by more than
80% of colleges and universities and in combination with their high school grade point
average to predict freshman success as measured by their freshman-year grade point
average. The SAT is composed of a verbal and mathematics section and the average
scores are 506 verbal and 514 math (The College Board, 2002).
The ACT assessment score scale was originally developed in 1959. In 1988 a
special study was conducted to provide nationally representative norms and to revise the
1959 score scale. Later, in 1995, another special study was conducted to examine the
1988 score scale, to update the nationally representative norms, and to determine the
impact of the use of calculators on the ACT math portion of the test. The present ACT
assessment consists of a battery of four multiple-choice tests of educational development:
English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. The 1995 national representative
sample of the ACT produced reliability coefficients of .92 for the English battery, .91 for
the Mathematics battery, .88 for the Reading battery, and .85 for the Science Reasoning
battery. Validity arguments are made for five of the most common interpretations and uses
of the test scores: educational development, college admissions decisions, college
placement decisions, student progress evaluation in high school, and student progress
evaluation in college. The tests are administered under standardized conditions and scores
are used by colleges for admissions decisions, recruitment, course placement, and self
49
study. High schools use the ACT data for public relations, academic advising and
counseling, accreditation documentation, and evaluation studies. Almost 3,000 academic
institutions recommend or require the ACT from their applicants and over 1 million
college-bound students take the ACT each year. These students, usually between 16 and
20 years of age, generally take the exams in their junior or senior year of high school.
Each year ACT updates the user norms based on the most recent test scores of the more
than 1 million students who take the tests (ACT, 1997).
The free and reduced price lunches (FRL) program is part of the National School
Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program overseen by the United Sates Department of
Agriculture. Eligibility is based on household size and total annual income. For example, a 
family of two with a total annual income of $22,089 or less per year, a family of four with
an annual income of $33,485 or less, and a family of six with an annual income of $44,881
or less would qualify for free and reduced breakfast and lunches (USDA School Lunch
Program, 2002). Families earning more than these amounts would not. FRL data are
commonly used by the Alabama State Department of Education as a determiner of
socioeconomic status for statistical purposes. 
The same mathematical process, mentioned previously to generate a weighted
average, was performed on the SAT average score for each grade level for each year
reported, for the ACT average score for each year reported, and for the FRL data for each
year reported. The FRL data dated from the 1997-1998 school year to the 2000-2001
school year. Previous FRL data were reported by the Alabama State Department of
Education to be unreliable and unuseable. A further complication arose with the FRL data.
50
Since only 4 years of data were determined to be useful by the state, it was decided that a
simple average of the resulting FRL weighted average would suffice to show a
socioeconomic effect for each county. The weighted averages were then combined and the
sum divided by four to produce an average FRL for each county.
After all of the data were calculated, they were arranged in a spreadsheet with the
counties arranged alphabetically, coded by number, along the vertical axis producing 67
subjects and all of the variables (total drug arrests 1988-2000; weighted SAT 9 percentile
rank scores Grades 3-11, 1996-2001; weighted SAT average percentile rank scores 1996-
2001; weighted ACT average percentile rank scores 1996-2001; and average FRL of years
1998-2001) along the horizontal axis. These data were then loaded into Statistical
Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 10.0.5 for correlation analyses using an
alpha level of .05.
The primary dependent variables in this study were academic achievement as
measured by the SAT 9 scores for each grade 3-11 for each year from 1996-2000, SAT
average scores for each year 1996-2000, and ACT average scores for each year 1996-
2000. Socioeconomic status, as measured by free and reduced lunch data for each county,
was also included as a secondary dependent variable. The independent variable in this
study was community drug usage as measured by total drug arrests for each county 1988-
2000.
51
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS
Trends in Drug Arrests 1988-2000
What are the trends in community drug usage as measured by drug arrests in the
State of Alabama from 1988 to 2000? In order to determine any obvious trends in drug
52
FIGURE 1- Total Drug Arrests in Alabama 1988-2000
arrests and therefore assumed community drug usage, the total drug arrests for all 67
counties across the State of Alabama were combined and plotted against time from 1988
to 2000. Figure 1 is a graphic representation of the total number of drug arrests from 1988
to 2000.
As
the
gra
ph
ind
icates, there is a dramatic spike in the number of arrests from 1988 to 1989 and then an
equally dramatic drop from 1989 to 1991, followed by a steady climb to 1998 with a
moderate decline through 2000. The dramatic drop in 1990, 1991, and 1992 is coincident
53
with the Persian Gulf War and may have been influenced by that conflict. From the
author?s personal knowledge and experience, many military reserve units across the state
include a large number of active police officers. The resultant call-up of reserve units
during that conflict would have been responsible for reducing the number of professional
and experienced police on the street. The result of reduced numbers of police officers on
the street would have directly influenced the affected police organizations? abilities to
interdict the flow of drugs while still addressing the multitude of other police activities and
responsibilities. In essence, the dramatic drop indicated by the graph may not necessarily
indicate a drop in community drug usage but simply a drop in police manpower able to
control the problem. This phenomenon warrants further study. It is highly unlikely,
however, that the indicated drop is a patriotic gesture on the part of drug users across the
state in sympathy with the military personnel involved in the conflict.
Real-Time, Long-Term Comparisons 
Is there a correlation between community drug usage, as measured by drug arrest
statistics, and children?s academic performance, as measured by SAT 9 scores, and
coincidently, is there a correlation between community drug usage and socioeconomic
status as measured by averaged figures of free and reduced lunch participation in the
Alabama public school systems on a real-time, long-term basis? Table 1 illustrates the
correlation values between total drug arrests and weighted SAT 9 scores and averaged
weighted free and reduced lunch values.
TABLE 1
54
Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted SAT 9 Scores and
Averaged Weighted Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) Values, Real-Time, Long-Term
Weighted SAT 9 scores by grade
TDA/Year 3
RD
4
TH
5
TH
6
TH
7
TH
8
TH
9
TH
10
TH
11
TH
Average FRL
TDA1996 .090 .157 .176 .109 .154 .124 .124 .168 .201 -.215
TDA1997 .008 -.004 .088 .035 .064 .088 .003 .097 .078 -.217
TDA1998 .147 .158 .172 .156 .199 .192 .136 .200 .231 -.224
TDA1999 .144 .147 .184 .106 .175 .190 .162 .207 .198 -.201
TDA2000 .156 .179 .206 .161 .194 .219 .209 .262 .294 -.244
 
When the data were analyzed, consistently positive low correlations were found
between community drug usage, as measured by total drug arrests across the state, and
academic achievement, as measured by weighted average SAT 9 scores across the state.
Also found were consistently negative low correlations (but higher negative values) when
comparing community drug usage and socioeconomic status, as measured by averaged
weighted free and reduced lunch values. The positive correlations in Table 1 imply that
higher drug use is related to higher academic achievement. Coincidentally, the negative
correlations between drug use and free and reduced lunch data imply that higher drug use
is related to higher socioeconomic status when one understands that a lower free and
reduced lunch factor indicates a higher socioeconomic status.
A spot check of the data using hierarchical multiple regression indicated positive
but statistically non-significant correlations between drug use and academic achievement.
However, the partial correlations, when controlling for socioeconomic status, showed a
trend of diminishing positive value or conversion from positive to negative, supporting the
55
assertion that higher drug use is related to lower academic achievement. A decision was
made not to use the regression data due to the small sample size and reduced power
associated with the analyses. 
Obviously the data should not be construed as implying causation; however, they
can be used as an incentive for further study. Worthy of note is the correlation data in the
upper grades as compared to the lower grades. An obvious increase in correlations
indicating possible drug effects at these levels may be explained by the increased mobility
and freedom of the children in these grades and their propensity at these ages to
experiment with an alternative lifestyle, an activity lacking in younger children in lower
grades. Another possible implication is that community drug use may parallel older
students? drug use. One curious and unexplainable phenomenon visible in the table is the
consistently low correlation levels across all grades in the 1997 data. This phenomenon
also is worth further study. 
Is there a correlation between community drug usage, as measured by drug arrest
statistics, and children?s academic performance, as measured by Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores and ACT scores in the Alabama public school systems on a real-time, long-term
basis? The same consistency phenomenon occurred when community drug usage was
compared to the weighted Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) average scores and weighted
average ACT scores for each county for each year. Table 2 illustrates the correlation
values between total drug arrests and weighted average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
scores and weighted average ACT scores by year, real-time, long-term.
TABLE 2
56
Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted Average Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT) Scores and Weighted Average ACT Scores, Real-Time, Long-Term
TDA/Year Weighted average SAT scores by year Weighted average ACT scores by
year
TDA 1996 .154 .108
TDA1997 .057 .063
TDA1998 .198 .226
TDA1999 .192 .239
TDA2000 .229 .153
Again, consistently positive low correlations were found between community drug
usage and weighted average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and weighted average
ACT scores indicating agreement with the previous data. The correlation coefficients for
the ACT values appear to be less consistent with a considerable drop in 2000. One
possible implication is the reduced impetus for college-bound students in areas of
relatively high community drug use. Also, we see again the unexplainable drop in
correlation coefficients for both sets of data for 1997. 
Is there a correlation between community drug usage and socioeconomic status as
measured by non-averaged figures of free and reduced lunch participation in the Alabama
public school systems on a real-time, long-term basis? Correlations of community drug use
for each year were run on available yearly data, 1998-2000, of weighted free and reduced
lunch (not averaged as in Table I) and again indicated consistently negative low
57
correlation coefficient Pearson r values. Table 3 illustrates the correlation values between
total drug arrests and weighted free and reduced lunch data.
TABLE 3
Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA) and Weighted Free and Reduced
Lunch (FRL) Data 1998-2000, Non-Averaged, Real-Time, Long-Term
TDA/Year Weighted FRL (non-averaged)
TDA1998 -.169
TDA1999 -.203
TDA2000 -.259
These data indicate consistent negative low correlation values as in the Table 1; however,
the non-averaged free and reduced lunch data show a steady increase in value implying a
possible increase in the relationship between socioeconomic level and community drug
usage between 1998 and 2000. This phenomenon warrants further investigation.
Skewed-Time, Long-Term Comparisons
Is academic performance, as measured by SAT 9 scores, in these same school
systems affected by community drug usage on a skewed-time, long-term, timeline basis? In
an effort to observe the effect of prenatal drug exposure on academic achievement using
the same data, correlations were run on community drug use and academic data from 8
years later. For example, if one were to use 1988 drug arrest data and assume that data are
indicative of parental drug use for 1988, then it also can be assumed that parental drug use
affected children born up to 9 months later. Those children would matriculate through the
58
school system and would first be tested using the SAT 9 Test in 1996 in the third grade.
Therefore, correlations were run on drug arrest data and the appropriate grades 8 years
later (i.e., TDA 1988 run against weighted SAT 9 scores for Grade 3 1996, Grade 4 1997,
Grade 5 1998, Grade 6 1999, and so forth). The same low but consistent correlations
appeared as in previous analyses. Table 4 illustrates Pearson r correlation coefficients
between total drug arrests and weighted SAT 9 scores skewed back 8 years.
TABLE 4
Pearson r Values Between Total Drug Arrests (TDA)  and Weighted SAT 9 Scores
Skewed Back 8 Years, Skewed-Time, Long-Term
Weighted SAT 9 scores by grade
TDA/Year 3
rd
4
th
5
th
6
th
7
th
TDA1988 (1996) .134 (1997) .045 (1998) .198 (1999) .132 (2000) .196
TDA1989 (1997) .017 (1998) .111 (1999) .154 (2000) .101
TDA1990 (1998) .093 (1999) .117 (2000) .159
TDA1991 (1999) .140 (2000) .151
These correlation values reflecting the effects of prenatal exposure are again
consistent with the previous data but appear to be somewhat lower as would be expected
due to the low number of students that may suffer these effects. Again, the curious low
values associated with the 1997 data are present and raise questions as to cause.
59
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
In the literature review of this study we have looked at the detrimental
effects of drug use and abuse, focusing on cocaine but including other companion drugs,
from prenatal exposure of the fetus, through societal effects in children and adolescents, to
use effects in young adults. The overwhelming majority of the research indicates
detrimental effects of drug use and abuse physically, mentally, and emotionally on
individuals as well as addresses the detrimental effects on society at large. The included
research data often pointed to problems individuals face as the result of drug exposure but
failed to look at the effect of drug use and abuse specifically on academic achievement on
a large-scale basis. Used in this study were historical data in an attempt to determine if
there is a correlation between drug use in the community and academic achievement in our
schools.
From the real-time, long-term perspective, the results of this research indicated a
low but consistent positive correlation between community drug usage and academic
achievement across the State of Alabama, as well as consistent, low negative correlations
between community drug usage and free and reduced lunch, an inverse indicator of
60
socioeconomic status. From the skewed-time, long-term perspective, which specifically
addresses the prenatal effects of drugs in the school systems, the data showed the same
consistency but with lower correlation values, probably due to the low numbers of
students suffering from these effects. 
Although the data gathered in this study did not show an obvious dramatic
relationship between community drug usage and academic achievement, they did show
consistent effects. Further, drug use correlated positively with higher socioeconomic
status. With higher academic achievement also being strongly related to higher
socioeconomic status, the implication here is that socioeconomic status may be the
controlling factor in both community drug use and academic achievement.
One can conclude from this study that the academic achievement of the students of
a community is affected by the actions of the community. The socioeconomic level of a
community certainly impacts the funding of local school systems and therefore the
academic achievement of the students in those school systems relative to other school
systems whether richer or poorer. The socioeconomic level of a community also appears
to be related to drug use. Increased drug usage in a community would affect in some way
the children of those users which in turn would have some detrimental effect on their
academic achievement, as has been shown in the literature.
The unexplained consistently low correlation values for the 1997 data is a subject
for further study. It could be assumed that some change occurred during this time period
that may have affected either the standardized test score values or the drug arrest data.
The more likely possibility would have been a dramatic increase or decrease in drug
61
arrests across the state due to funding or manpower problems. However, this change is
not indicated by the total number of arrests in the state for 1997, as seen in Figure 1.
Another possible explanation is a fluctuation in the standardized test score values due to a
change in the standardized exams themselves, scoring process changes, score reporting
changes, or some other factor that affected all students across the state. Contact with the
Alabama State Department of Education has not, to date, produced a specific reason for
the fluctuation.
At the outset of this investigation, it was thought that any apparent influence on
academic achievement due to community drug use would be low if it would be visible at
all, due to what the author calls the ?dilution factor? and the nature of the data. The
dilution factor can be explained intuitively as the separation between the dramatic effects
an observer would see if looking at several individual cases of parental drug use and its
effects on the academic achievement of the children of those parents, versus looking at an
entire parental population of a state and the entire population of the school systems of that
state, the majority of whom do not use illegal drugs. A question arises when evaluating the
results of the data, the dilution factor, and the combination of extraneous variables
associated with looking at this particular research. That question is this: What is
significant? Must the resultant correlation values between variables be in the .40 to .99
range in order to show significance, according to Jacob Cohen, ?constrained by
convention? (Cohen, 1988, p. 531)? Or, can a matter be important and critical enough to
allow significance to be expressed in values at much lower levels of .10 to .20? Cohen
(1988) addressed this issue and stated that 
62
In new areas of research inquiry, effect sizes are likely to be small (when they are
not zero). This is because phenomena under study are typically not under good
experimental or measurement control or both. When phenomena are studied which
cannot be brought into the laboratory, the influence of uncontrollable extraneous
variables (noise) makes the size of the effect small relative to these (makes the
?signal? difficult to detect). (p. 25)
Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (1996) also stated that the value of correlation coefficient
relationships are ?arbitrary? (p. 399). This separation of effect and the plethora of
extraneous variables associated with the data used combine to produce this dilution factor
which would, in effect, reduce the correlational results of the data making them appear to
be nonsignificant. However, it can be argued that if the correlational results were
nonsignificant the correlation coefficients (Pearson r values) of the correlations would
appear to be low, random, and inconsistent rather than stable and consistent in their
values. 
Halpin and Halpin (personal communication, 2002) espouse the doctrine that ?A
difference is not a difference unless a difference makes a difference.? In the case of the
academic achievement of our youth, even a small difference does make a difference. In the
case of community drug usage, even a small difference does make a difference. These two
concepts are terribly important to the entire population of our state, to the nation, and
even to the rest of the world. They are not only terribly important, but they are also
relatively easy to control and manipulate provided there is adequate incentive for that
control and manipulation. The established educational systems at the federal, state, and
63
local levels are in place and already have the necessary tools to provide for an education of
our state?s youth. There are, however, grave problems with equity, funding, and additional
support mechanisms which need to be addressed in order to optimize the educational
systems and provide an adequate education for many disadvantaged students across the
state. Along the same line, there already exists at the federal, state, and local levels law
enforcement to combat the rising tide of drug inflow and usage. There are, however, many
problems associated with the interdiction and control of illicit drugs--funding, manpower,
adequate intelligence, just to name a few. It would seem reasonable to assume that a
closer cooperative working relationship between these existing agencies may benefit both
in the long run. Renewed and revitalized, real-life, no-nonsense drug education programs
aimed at the already captive population of mandatory public school students would, in all
likelihood, reduce the customer base of drug dealers if handled correctly. Increased
interdiction resources at an international, federal, state, and local level also would seem to
stem the incoming tide of illicit drugs.
It is the opinion of this author that the fundamental problem for policing and
educational agencies to achieve their goals of eliminating the drug problem and providing
an adequate education of our youth rests not solely with the agencies, and the waste and
inefficiencies within these agencies, but with the public at large. The real problem is
complacency--complacency on the part of citizens who do not have school-age children
and who feel that education is not their problem, as well as complacency on the part of
citizens who do not use drugs and who feel that increased funding for interdiction and the
control of drugs is not their problem. It also is the opinion of this author that these
64
complacent citizens are dead wrong and totally mistaken in their belief that these two
issues do not affect them. By all means they do! Random robberies and murders happen
everyday so that addicts can pay for their habits. Gang warfare sparked by the desire to
control drug territories are spreading. This phenomenon was, in the past, generally
restricted to areas of higher population but not so now. An increasing number of drug-
related crimes continue to move toward rural areas. Those who feel that drugs are a
problem only for low socioeconomic groups and minorities are mistaken. Drug addiction
knows no racial or economic boundaries.
The importance of an adequately educated populace has been accepted as a
primary tenant of our democratic society. Educating our youth and providing them with
the necessary tools to achieve in life can be viewed not only as that which is required by
the law of the land but also as our duty as citizens to make our country stronger. The
education issue is our problem, a problem shared by each individual citizen in our society.
By providing our children with the best education possible, we reduce the uncertainty of
our country?s future. We more efficiently provide a broader base of potential from which
we can draw leadership, advance technology, encourage the advancement of the arts and
sciences, and strengthen our diverse culture. We must as a society look on these issues as
trying to gain an advantage in the long term, and we as a society ought to aspire to
perfection by controlling those variables that can be controlled in order to institute change.
Recommendations for Future Research
65
Further study using qualitative methods, such as specific case studies, would
almost certainly provide evidence of the harm done and heartache endured by children of
drug-using parents. Long-term longitudinal studies on identified drug-exposed children,
across the country and at all economic levels, need to be done to produce definitive data
on the educational progress of these children, pre-school through college. Ideally, looked
at in these studies should be the entire spectrum of affected children from the minimally
exposed to those with high exposure. The data produced could then be used to determine
the actual long-term outcome for these children. The data could also be used to support 
policy decisions and methods and techniques available to overcome the children?s
cognitive and physical difficulties. 
Another interesting study would be an in-depth investigation of the drug culture in
the public school systems across the state. Important foci could be who, what, when,
where, how, and why students get involved with drugs and the long-term repercussions of
that involvement, both for the students and the schools.
The effects of community economics on local drug use  and the resultant academic
performance of the involved students are another possible study. It is hoped that this
research will inspire future academic study and provide  educational and governmental
agencies incentive to examine existing historic data and identify other variables which
impact academic performance. The apparent relationship between socioeconomic status
and academic achievement should be one focus of further study. The effects of community
economics on local school funding and the resultant academic performance of the involved
66
students are another focal point. When these issues are adequately defined and properly
addressed by federal, state, and local policy makers, beneficial change can be instituted.
67
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