Why Is SDFSC Important?

Because Substance Use and Poor Academic Achievement Are Linked 

•  Youth with an average grade of D or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year as youths with an average grade of A.¹

• Adolescents who use alcohol may remember 10% less of what they have learned than those who don’t drink.²

Because Peer Substance Use Is Linked to Lower Reading and Math Scores  

• Lower reading and math scores are linked to peer substance abuse.³ 

• On average, students whose peers avoided substance use had test scores that were 18 points higher for reading, and 45 points higher for math.

Because Social and Emotional Learning Programs, Including Prevention Programs, Increase Academic Achievement 

• Recent evidence supports the fact that “social and emotional learning” programs increase academic achievement, and help students avoid engaging in high-risk behaviors such as illegal drug use.⁴

• The primary Federal program currently funding “social and emotional learning” programs, such as Life Skills Training, is the SDFSC program.

Because Teachers Warn Youth About Alcohol and Drug Use 

• The 2007-2008 Pride Survey revealed “Only 18% of students said their teachers never talk to them about alcohol and drug problems.” 

• The same survey also revealed that students who reported that their teachers warned them frequently about the dangers of drugs were 55% less likely to use drugs. Because the lowest levels of drug use historically correspond with the highest level of SDFSC Funding

• From 1987 to 1992, there was a 155% increase in funding for the SDFSC program. During the same period there was a 42% decrease in adolescent drug use.

• From 1992 to 2007, there was a 54% decrease in funding for the SDFSC program. During the same period there was a 52% increase in drug use.

1. Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Report—Marijuana Use among Youths. July 19, 2002. Available at www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda.htm.
2. Tapert, S.F., Granholm, E., et al. (2000). “Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use.” Alcoholism: Clinical and experimental research, 24(2).
3. Bence, M., Brandon, R., Lee, I., Tran, H. University of Washington. (2000). Impact of peer substance use on middle school performance in Washington: Summary. Washington Kids Count/University of WA: Seattle, WA. www.hspc.org/wkc/special/pdf/peer_sub_091200.pdf.
4. Zins, J.E., Payton, J.W., Weissberg, R.P., & O'Brien, M.U. (2007). In G. Matthews, M. Zeidner, & R. D. Roberts (Eds.), The science of emotional intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. New York: Oxford University Press.