Just finishing up an IRB this morning to submit to PSU to get permission to proceed with a new research project I’ve been committed to doing for several years now. Most excited to jump into it this summer. Here is the brief required narrative from my proposal:

Substance abuse remains a formidable problem in the U.S. Until recently, adolescent substance abuse treatment frameworks and related research about them was under-developed. However in the last ten years, there has been significant development in both treatment models and research in the area (Carter Narendorf & McMillan, 2010). Simultaneously, there has been a movement in motion regarding the “recovery” process which is associated with, but tends to follow, formal treatment (Sheedy & Whitter, 2009). What happens when people leave treatment and begin a new life in “recovery?” This research will fill a gap in the addiction recovery literature by centering youth perspectives on their unique developmental view of the process of recovery from addiction as they experience it. Research questions include:

• What does recovery mean to young people following cessation of alcohol and drug abuse?
• What are examples of recovery in the lives of young people who are experiencing it?
• What do young people wish people knew about the recovery process from their own points of view?
• What risks and what reinforcements to recovery do young people experience in their lives?

Bully, a new documentary film by Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen, is intimate, human, honest, and gorgeously scored—all the trappings of a good movie. But Bully’s passionate yet well-crafted social message – a plea to end bullying and improve millions of lives in the process – makes it truly great, and possibly the most important film of the year.

The movie portrays kids and families across the country whose lives have been irrevocably altered by bullying. A girl and her parents have been shunned and abused ever since she came out as a lesbian. A boy has convinced himself that the kids who punch, stab, and strangle him daily on the school bus do it because they are his “friends.” Another girl is charged with multiple felony counts after brandishing a gun in hopes of scaring off her tormentors. Two sets of parents try to cope after losing their sons, ages 17 and 11, to suicide. And there are millions more stories like these—13 million kids are bullied in the United States each year.

The first step of the Reclaiming Futures model is to screen youth entering the juvenile justice system for substance abuse problems using a reputable screening tool. Each of the six sites in North Carolina have adopted the Global Appraisal for Individual Needs Short Screener (GAIN-SS).

From 2010-2011, 2,663 GAIN screeners were completed with 2,490 youth in Reclaiming Futures' North Carolina sites. Of these screenings, 22% scored at moderate to high risk on the substance disorder screener. This indicates that these youths may need substance abuse, dependence or substance use disorder treatment and therefore should be referred for further assessment. Approximately 18% of youth scored high risk on the overall screening with an additional 75% scoring moderate risk, indicating need for substance abuse and/or mental health assessment/treatment.

This tool has been made available to all counties through the North Carolina Juvenile Online Information Network (NC-JOIN). Since July 2011, 58 counties have used NC-JOIN to track results of the GAIN screening results. This data is then used to make appropriate referrals and in development of service plans for youths.

According to the Pat Moore Foundation, inhalants are often the first drug used by adolescents. What teens may not know, is that just one huff is enough to kill them. That's why the foundation put together the following infographic, detailing the extrame danger of huffing.

Click through to see the infographic.