| Popis: |
Adolescents have been observed to have negative perceptions and attitudes toward police officers, yet police officers are increasingly being used as resource persons and instructors in school-based drug prevention programs. This research study explored the perceptions and attitudes of students toward police officers and instructors and the factors determining the observed perceptions and attitudes. The study uses data from a longitudinal evaluative study of students in 7th grade through to 9th grade, clustered in 82 high schools in six United States geographic regions. The Adolescents Substance Abuse Prevention Study (A.S.A.P.S.), a longitudinal study by the Institute for Health and Social Policy of the University of Akron was undertaken to determine the impact of new curricula on delaying or reducing adolescent substance use. Findings suggest that generally students were impartial in their perception of the police but they were fairly positive in their attitudes toward police instructors of drug prevention programs. These perceptions and attitudes declined over time and were not uniform across the sample. Female students and students with low risk, and low involvement in deviant behaviors were found to have consistently more favorable perceptions and attitudes toward police officers and instructors. Individual characteristics of students were found to affect their perceptions and attitudes toward police officers and instructors. These effects were also influenced by contextual factors. It was concluded that both individual and contextual factors are equally important in predicting students’ perceptions and attitudes toward police officers and instructors. Students’ attitudes toward program instructors are determined by their perceptions of police, their individual- and school-level risk, their involvement in deviant behaviors and the type of instructor in school-based drug prevention program. On the other hand, students’ perceptions of the police are determined by their individual- and school-level risk, their involvement in deviant behaviors and racial identity. The study made suggestions for policy reforms including the increasing use of police officers as resource persons in schools and the targeting of programs delivered by police officers to suit the unique needs of students. The study also made suggestions for replications of this study and future research into students’ perceptions and attitudes toward police officers and program instructors. |
