er approval of substance use. Results varied by type of substance; students were more likely to report peer approval of alcohol than of marijuana or of other drugs. Close to one-third of students reported easy availability of alcohol and marijuana at school, and about one-third reported seeing students at school under the influence of alcohol. The availability of drugs other than alcohol and their reported use at school were less common.Students in lower grade levels (6-8), in private schools, and in schools with fewer than 1,000 students were less likely to report peer approval of substance use and easy availability at school than students in higher grade levels (9-10 and 11-12), in public schools, and in schools with 1,000 or more students. Although fewer students in private schools reported easy availability of alcohol or seeing students under the influence of alcohol at school than students in public schools, relatively high percentages of students in private and public schools alike reported peer approval of alcohol use.The wide acceptance of alcohol in our society is reflected in the peer approval of alcohol use by 44 percent of 6th through 12th grade students. However, the relationship between students perceiving a "do not drink" message in alcohol/drug education programs and lower peer approval of alcohol use, as well as of marijuana or other drug use, that emerges in these data suggests the utility of further research to explore the implications of this finding. Schools that emphasize an explicit "no use" message in their alcohol and drug education programs may be quite different from schools that do not, and further research is needed to explore this issue also. Finally, differences in the perceived main message and its effects may lie with students themselves. For instance, whether or not they already use alcohol may affect the message they hear. This is another area of potentially fruitful research.In sum, results from the N...
