xt7rfj29d99b https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7rfj29d99b/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1995 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1995 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1995 1995 1995 2026 true xt7rfj29d99b section xt7rfj29d99b

he L'niversitvol'Kentuckv. the corn-

mouwealth‘s graduate education
and research institution. exists to pro»
vide opportunities for the education,
personal growth and development ol‘
individuals and to contribute to the
improvement ol'socielv.

Withthismissionas premisuone
goal of the university is to conduct
programsof‘hasic and applied research
which support graduate and profes-
sional education, provide for the ad-
vancement of knowledge. and seek
solutions {or the acute problems of
societv.

’l‘he university‘s research in sion
also acts as a magnet for attracting top
graduate students who want to partici-
pate in nationally competitive research
projects. Th is research experience can
offer them a signiﬁcant advantage in
their education while laving the foun—
dation for future research and devel-
optnent. ODYSSEY. through articles
about various research projects and
graduate education programs reﬂects
the breadth of the universitv , search
for new knowledge and the mvriad of
research endeavors underwav. The
progress that the universitv has made
toward achieving its re arch mis.
and securing the extramural funds
required to support these types ol'en-
(leavors would have been iinpo sible
without the talents and dedication of
our researchers.

The goal of ODYSSEl'is to offer the
reader the opportunity to share in
some ofthe excitement, curiositv and
creativity evident in the research un-
denvav at the l'niversitv of Kentucky.

Substance Use and Abuse, p. 7

Volume XIII, N0. 1

()/(\'s\1f\‘is published by the ()1!
tire of the Vice President for Re—
search and Graduate Studies.
Each issue of ()d‘yswy describes
only a few of the many ['niversity

ol'Kentucky research projects un-

derway in a variety of areas.

Requests for permission to re- ‘

print material and readers” com-

ments regarding Odyssey are wel- {
come and should be sent to the .

Editor.(IonnnunicationsandAd-
vancement, L'niversity of Ken-
tut‘ky. Lexington 40506—0057
(phone 606/257-8297; fax: 606-
2518298).

The publication of Odyssey is
not financed by the state general
fund.

Acting Vice President for
Research and Graduate Studies:
Delwood (Iollins

Editor: Susan Hodgetts Stempel
Assoc. Editor: jeff' Worley
Designer: Shear 8c Shear
Publications Asst: Lisa 1). Liver
Staff Writer: A11gelajones
Contributing Writers: Shelia H.
Hume. Sharon Reynolds.
(Iarole Siler. Kimberly Neel
Photography: Lee Thomas.
Duane Headworth

Printing: Merrick Printing, Inc.
Cover: jurgen Reisch/Tonr
Stone Images

@1995 University of Kentucky
All rights resen‘ed.

Hands—0n, Peer Learn-
ing Leading Students
into the 215! Century,
f). 12

Honorable iWenz‘ion, [2. 19

Contents

What Were We Doing in Vietnam? 2

Substance Use and Abuse 7

KERA: Hands-0n, Peer Learning Leading Students
into the 215t Century 12

Honorable Mention 17
The Black Box Called Pain 23

Kiosk: Older Drivers,
Tobacco: Branching Out and More... 52

Update:
Revolutionizing Aerosol Science—Drop by Drop

U4
J\

What Were W6 Doing in Vietnam?

In Sharon Reyna/{ls

The question afar/tether the
National Liberation I‘im’zl oper-
ated independently or as a satellite
ofHo Chi M iii/2, Ts regime was a
(‘enlral issue in the debate on the

UK’s Vietnam War Scholars and Students Working
to Answer the Question of a Generation

\\o decades after the end oi. the Vietnam

\\"'ar. .seholars eontinue to mine the suhr
ieet tor new information :thout an ineredihly
di\isi\'e era in Ameriean lite. Among those
eondueting some of the most signit'ieant res
.s'eareh on the Vietnam eontliet are graduate
students in the Department ot' llistor) at the
Inn ersity ()lil\-ClllUL'l\"\'. than n by the ieputa
tion of noted Vietnam seholztr George ller
ring. these students are exploring a great
range ol topiesklirom the nature oi the en
emy in Vietnam to the Buddhist opposition
mm ement \\'ithin South \ ietnam to the \\a\
the .-\merie;tn press responded to the \\ar. 1n
researehing their theses and dissertations
these students haVe heen innmatn e and
persistent. going on the heaten Pelllliisttlllk‘

war in the 19603 and IP’IIZ(IZ"IZ.S‘

(ontmveisial today.

ODYSSEY _’

times. litet';lll\lin their .searth tor ans\\ ers
Herring their mentor and guide on this
journey lieuan his o\\n quest \\hile teat hing;
histort at ()hio l'ni\ersit\ in Moi a time
\\hen student interest in Vietnam \\as just
lit-ginning; to gum, in the mid "its he had
made the \ ietnam \\ at his spet ialn and \\on
a \ational lndo\\ment tor the Humanities
t\l'l l I tellou ship to hegm a llt)<)l\ l’ulilished
in W“). llei t lttLl s . lHlt‘l'lt (I s longed \\ (H‘ has
liet t ime a standard te\t m hist< n'\ and pi rhtit'al
st ient e L lasses \t i\\ in its thud printing, the
l»« n l haslween used in mt tt'e than W'lst ht u tls
‘l tte\t‘t e\t3etletl lltt‘ teattttltt l\t' gttttt‘tt
hour this in Nlh sa\sllet't'tttj_1 It s heen \er\
e\t tune’ and led to quite a le\\ imitations to

en e lettui’es \\oi|d\\ ide'

ﬁlm/u /I1 It‘t' llm/I/th

(hangar Herring's lulu/t. Xmet‘it‘a‘s [longest War. has /l(’l’tltllr' a slam/{ml Ie,\'/
[I1 his/my am] [ml/II: (1/ meme t/aws. Herring /\ e/Iainnan o/ the [)1‘/HII’/l)ll‘ll/
0/ History.

#0—

l‘lx' alumnus Robert Brigham. who now
teaches at Vassar College. sought the adyice
of se\eral scholars when he was deciding
where to pursue his doctoral degree. "By far.
they recommended l'l\’ because of George
Herring." he says.

Herring predicts that Brigham will also
attract widespread attention because of
Brigham's work. His dissertation focuses on
one of the most controversial issues of the
\\arithe nature and origin of the National
Liberation l-‘ront (NLF) of the south. The
question of whether that organization oper—
ated independently or as a satellite ofHo Chi
.\linh's regime was a central issue in the
debate on the war in the 1000s and remains
contrm ersial today.

in conducting his research. Brigham went
to (Iornell l'ni\ ersin to learn the Vietnamese
language. .»\nd although there were no diplo—
matic relations between the l'nited States and
Vietnam then as now. he was able to get a
research \isa to that country in 109.), "Dr.
l lerring's name played a big role in my getting
permission to go there". he says. Brigham
recei\ ed research grants from the {K Gradu—
ate .\chool and the Society for Historians of
American Foreign Relations. and an Nlill
fellow ship to help fund seyeral months of
study.

He thus became one of the first Amerir
cans to do historical research in Vietnam.
working in Vietnamese goyernment ar—
chiyes and inter\ ie\\ ing many people there
who fought in the war. "I interyiewed
hundreds of people." Brigham says. “some
of whom were extremely helpful to me."
Brigham credits an historian in the Foreign
Ministry. \‘u Hu l’huc. for giying him the
"big picture of the war” from the Vietnam-
ese perspectiye. "Hu Phuc also had what
I would call a 'good sense of docu—
ments.“ he adds.

Brigham explains that archiyes in
Vietnam are not catalogued. ".\Iaterir
als are scattered. many in leaky ware—
houses that sometimes haye no
electricity. It's a poor country with
limited resources. and storing ar—
chi\ es isn‘t a top priority." he says.
Brigham describes walking into one

such "library” with Hu Phuc. who was un—
daunted by the seemingly chaotic piles of
books. magazines and letters strewn around.
"He somehow knew where things were."
Brigham says. with a still slightly incredulous
smile. "He could find articles and books I
needed in a few minutes."

Brigham was also fortunate to haye a win—
dow of opportunity for research opened to
him. just before he went to Vietnam. the
southern factions whom he was writing about
came into power. Nguyen thi Binh. the chief
diplomat for the NLF and a prominent figure
in Brigham's study. became \‘ice president of
Vietnam.

“As a result. I was shown documents I
probably wouldn't haye had access to before—
hand." he says. For example. Brigham was
giyen not only published but unpublished
memoirs of NLF diplomats who had repre—
sented the organization in countries all oyer
the world.

Brigham‘s dissertation. “The National Lib—
eration Front's Foreign Relations in the Viets
nam \Var." concludes that the relatiot‘tship
between the XLF and Hanoi was marked by
cooperation and conflict. \\"hile the two sides
shared similar goals. they differed on how to
achieye those goals. He is cur—

L’oH/lltllet/ (HI [urge —!
. M
”MMWW W

‘

WW”, Mm: h Mmmn
PM it Sill llll llS

l’lm/u by lee 'Nmnms

ﬂ ODYSSEY

“Like the US.
government,

the charitable
relief agencies
misunderstood
the social and
political dynam—
ics of the nation
they tried

to help.”

1‘ Brisbane
Central .‘lrltt .tigmt l mten‘ttr News Bureau

ODYSSEY 4

Photo by l’e

rently negotiating with Cornell [‘niversity
Press to have his manuscript published.
____...___

Two other UK graduates. Mitchell llall and
Clarence Wyatt. have published their schol-
arly works on the Vietnam War. Hall. who
received his l’h.l) from UK in 1987. became
interested in the American clergys role in
antiwar protests when he stumbled upon
some records of the Clergy and Laymen
Concerned About Vietnam (CALCAV) while
doing research at Swarthmore College. Be—
cause of Their Faith: CALCAV and Religious
Opposition to the Vietnam W’ai was pub—
lished by Columbia University Press in l990.

Wyatt‘s book. Paper .S‘olclieis; The Ameri-
can Press and the Vietnam War. was pub—
lished in 1995 by W.W Norton. and was
favorably reviewed by the Neat YUF? ”limes
and the Washington Post. A review in the
London Economist found it a convincing
refutation of the view that the press had
played a crucial role in ending the war: “I [is
verdict is a cruel blow to the self—esteem of

Mitt? THE DRAKE
a w; lif‘vull m mmzuaz

E
r
,
E
l
:

American iournalism." the reviewer wrote.

Now a history professor at Centre College.
W'yatt is another example of an innovative
researcher: lie was one ofthe first persons to
gain access to internal documents and memo—
randa kept in the archives of the .\'e11' l‘or/c
Titties. He found out about the documents
while reading llarrison Salisburvs memoir
about his years with the Nea‘ l'or/a 'l'imes. He
contacted Salisbury who arranged to get \‘y'yatt
into the archives.

"To the Times“ credit. the management was
eager to let me in." says \Vyatt. Reading
through ct>mmunications between managing
editors and reporters in the field. he was
better able to see how journalists functioned
in relation to the Vietnam story.

“One of the issues that was confirmed for
me more and more is how much economics
drives news cm erage.” says \Vyatt. “For ex;
ample. most Americans are interested in read
ing about or seeing what happens to other
Americans. As a result. the press focused on
combat." Reporting information about battles
or showing footage of fire fights is usually
simpler than reporting on more complex
issues. \Vyatt says.

He also found. in research that included
digging through obscure military and govern—
ment archives. that much of what the Ameri—
can public saw or read was censored—not
only by officials but also by the news organi—
zations.

"In combat situations. even when the press
is free to go where they want. they are very
dependent on the government for informa-
tion." he says. “That‘s one reason the press
was not as decisive in ending the Vietnam war
as people may think. There was also signifi—
cant self—censorship. with the news organizm
tions trying to balance coverage or avoid
showing too many of the gory details."

th’ll‘trllf)” Hall, who received

his doctorate from UK in I 987,

has published a hook on the American
clergy s role in antiwar protests.

Hyatt/(tuna that math of what the Ameaean [nthlir saw 0r read during the Vietnam
War was ('ensared—not only by (ﬂirtah hut aha hy the news Organizations.

l)elia l’ergande. \\'hose dissertation is in
progress. is taking a look at another group
that prides itself on making a difference-
nt tit-gm ernmental organizations (\(K )s ),
These are the frontiline people. the chari—
table relief agencies that seek to \\ in hearts
and tninds by risking their liyes to bring aid
to \y;tt>tot'n ciyilians. She focuses on fiye
\(i()s that came into \‘ietnam in the mid
I‘Wts. folltmtng the l‘ﬁt (ieneya accords.

“l began to get interested in this subject
\\hen I ran across a reference in some
records gi\ en to me by Dr. Herring regarding
the International Rescue (Iommittee setting
up the Natg< inlaycees. I thought. how strange."
l’et‘gattde recalls.

"Although these .\'(}()s considered them—
selyes notrpolitical. they belieyed humani-
tarian aid \\ould help secure countries from
communism. 'l'heir efforts to introduce the
\'tetnatttese people to American culture and
initiate sellEhelp programs paralleled aid ef—
forts by the l'..\'. goyernment. Consequently.
\t}( )s played a significant role in America‘s
failed attempts at nation building in South
\‘ietnam.

",\lost of their work was sincerely chari—
table yet there was significant cultural chau-
\ imsm." she says. "Many of them thought if
we just kept filtering in money. South Viet—
nam \\ould stablilize. Like the ICS. go\ern—
ment. \(i()s misttnderstood the social and
political dynamics of the nation they tried to
help.”

l’ergande has already receiyed two awards
to work on her dissertatit)n—one from the
Society for Historians of American Foreign
Relations and another from the Kentucky
Foundation for \Vomen. She is trayeling
around the country. digging through the
archiyes of these charitable organizations
and the memoirs of former relief \yorkers.

Her research has already begun to reyeal
that. like the press. charitable organizations
appear to haye had a symbiotic relationship
with the go\ ernment.

"Before the [5. goyernment commits to
extensh e foreign aid. you often see many
private groups go in. then publicly plead for
goyernment assistance." she says. “It's almost
as if they play a role in heightening public

a\\'areness of hot spots and prepare for goy—
ernment action. Certainly in Vietnam. this \\'as
the case. There was a huge publicity blitz.
\yith CARE and (Iatholic Relief Seryices de-
manding that the public should respond to
the refugee crisis in that country in 193 t,"

But .\'U()s are also may dependent upon
the goyerntttent for assistance in their efforts
to resettle refugees. deyelop \‘illages and
bring in food and medical supplies. l’ergande
has found. "Some of the agencies in \‘ietnam
wanted to disassociate themselyes from 1'5.
policy and bring humanitarian reliefto eyet'y—
body who needed it. Yet their dependence on
the goyernment for security increased once
military tensions escalated. ()byiously. that
created a dilemma for their supposed nonpor
litical aims.” she says.

—.—

l’ergande is typical of many of today ‘s
students who were iust entering grade school
\\ hen the anti—war moyement “as heating up.
Robert ’I‘opmiller. ho\\'e\'er. a first—year doc—
toral student from \Vashington state. brings a
personal perspecti\'e—that of a Vietnam \'et~
eran—to his research.

";\s a medic. l sayy a lot of combat.” says

’l‘opmiller. "And I came back with a lot of

questions. I wanted to find out. for example.

LttH/ltlltt't/ t in [rage o

Del/a Petgan/te‘y (lisseh
tatian will/arm an
ehan'tah/e Wire/agen—
eies that ('ame into
Vietnam in the mat
195m, [allowing the
1954 (rt’HVZW at‘t‘an/A.
Her terean'h. she says.
has already hegtnt to
share that thew organi—
zattam tended II) have
a \ymhiata‘ relatt'anshif)
with the gotten) meat.

§ ODYSSEY

[Var/trQHt/t/t /t1‘ /t't' 'I/mtmt)

l’lm/tignl/i/t 01' law Niomua

Rn/mt TO/mIiHm‘. (I medic
in liwtiimn. was in NW
196 7 81(1ng 0/ K01) San/t
IU/H’W 'I‘apmiller and

(7, 000 ()f/Il’)‘ (ma/)3 were
sui'mttnerl/ar 77 (1(1):; by
themimny. Topmillm'
says, "lli’ last 2. 000 (if
our 6, 000 mm in that
battle. "

ODYSSEY 6

whythose people wantedto kill me," 'l‘opmiller
recalls one particularly \‘iy'id memory from his
combat experience. the 100—418 Siege of Khe
~\anh. In this compound 12 miles from \‘oth
Vietnam and only seven miles from Laos.
Topniiller and about (5.000 other troops were
surrounded for '" days by the enemy. “it was
terrifying." says ’l‘opmiller. who was then 1‘)

years old. "\Ve were shelled ey'ery day. w e

were constantly on the Verge of running out of

ammunition. and whenever one of our supply
planes landed nearby. the North Vietnamese
would bombard it."

()n january 1. 1908. the expected assault
came. The compound was hit hard by rocket
attacks. and Topmiller found himself treating
two dozen casualties almost immediately:
"Then we heard.” he recalls. "an unbeliey'ably
thunderous explosion It was a direct hit on
our ammo dump—180 tons of explosiy'es."
Topmiller watched the blast lift his good friend
Gary Crawford eight feet straight up in the air
and slam him onto the wall before the building
collapsed. The explosion also blew out
Topmiller‘s eardrums. "\Ve lost 2.000 of our
0.000 men in that battle." he says. “It was a
tremendous reversal," The Vietnamese. inex—
plicably. failed to press their adyantage. and

the following day l' S bombers deyastated
the North Vietnamese II't tops surrounding the
compound. “More bombs were dropped that
day." Topmiller says. "than were dropped on

lapan during all of \Vorld \Var ll."

T< )pmiller sur\'i\‘ed Vietnam and after spendi
ing 20 years in the business world decided to
return tocollege. He had dey eloped a special
interest in litiddhisiii. attracted by its emphai
sis on peat e. lo\ e and [ittiiillldlk‘t'i‘ttllNllt \al~
ties. llis dissertation. “hub is in progress.
e\aiiiinesthe litiddhist opposition iiioy ement
tt i the w ar in \t tlllll Vietnam in the early Wot is.

The litiddhists wanted to be a third force
of netitralisiii." says ’l'opmiller “l lad they
succeeded there not li.t\ e
\ietnain \\'ar But in calling for peace. they
t atised the \iiierit ans and the t t ininitinists to
oppose their iiioyeiiient.”

would been a

To help in his research. 'l'opniiller plans to
learn \ ietnamese at the l niy ersity oi \\ ist t in,
sin. He wants to be able to read maga/ines
published by the tilt inks during the iiiid- Wot is
and to tray el to \ ietnaiii to intery iew monks
lt's a task fraught with dilhtulties. he say s.
since they are still outspoken critics of the
current goyernnient Howeyei‘. he hopes to
gain an audience with 'l'hich \hat llanh. a
renowned \ ietnainese litltltlliisl liy mg in ex
ile in France. He has already corresponded
with the e\iled Buddhist. who has w ritien
numerous books. through the monks pub
lisher. \hat llanh also holds retreats which
are generally anyone
enotigli to apply. ’l'opmiller says.

\Vith the insights ltipttiillet‘ has already
gained. he is optimistic that the Buddhists w ill
remain a \ ibrant force for religious freedom

open to interested

and perhaps men for the normali/ation of

relations between Vietnam and the l'nited
States.

For I lerring. the strong work ofhis graduate
students oy'er the years brings special satisfac—
tion. and he credits his students from 50 years
ago for initially sparking him to begin his
search for answers about the war. "l was
initially nudged into this direction by students

questions about Vietnam." he says. by their

curiosity. Their interest stimulated my own
curiosity about the war. and l began to dig".

“As a medic, I saw a lot 0fmmbat, ” says 'Ibfmziltw: “And I (am/J bark with (1 [0t 9/
questions. I wanted tofmd out, jar example, why (haw [maple wantm’ t0 kill mp. ”

Substance Use and Abuse:

Can a Marker Be Found to Tag At—Risk Teens?

he Reagan adininistration‘s “just Say No“ to alcohol and drugs campaign picked up steam as byjeﬂll'arley

the I‘)>s’0s clicked by. htlt the “)0s so far. to helahor a metaphor. have been a slick. uphill stretch
of bad track In the past five years. dozens of national and local surveys of adolescent drug and
alcohol use ha\ e rey ealed that more and more teens. instead of just saying “no" when it comes
to alcohol and drugs. are saying ”thanks."

:\t t < >rding n I r ine \atit )IlLll Institute on Drug Abuse study. of 18.000 eighth graders at 160 public
and private schools around the country “.2 percent of them acknowledged smoking marijuana
in I‘)‘)_’. up 1% percent from the previous year. “\‘i'hile the number of eighth graders using
marijuana is not yet \ery large. the proportional changes are big. which means these young
people may be in the \anguard of a reversal of previously improving conditions." says Lloyd
>l()l‘.nsI(>II. principal investigator of a l'niversity of Michigan study on teen substance use. The
study. begun in 19—3. is the nations oldest survey of drug use atnong teenagers.

And it could very well he that the situation is vvorse than the statistics say it is. Thomas Cash.
head ofthe Drug Enforcement Administration office in Miami. one of

the largest in the agency‘s system. says that drug use among
adolescents was almost certainly rising at a faster rate than indicated
by the Michigan study because "it does not reﬂect the habits ofschool
drop—outs who in the past have been much heavier drug users."
There has clearly been. in the ‘90s. an attitude shift among
teenagers about drug use. Current findings from the Michigan study
reveal that the 30.000 junior and senior high school students
surveyed last year were much less concerned about the ill
effects of drug use than juniors and seniors in earlier years.
j In a less scientific survey at four New York City high schools.
all of the several dozen students interviewed said that pot—
sinoking is widespread. and perceived as a harmless distrac—

tion.

/'/ttrlt(L’IiI/‘/I hi lt't' I/mmm

In a recent study at the l‘niversity of Kentucky. three
researchers are working to understand why adolescents use
drugs. (latherine Martin. principal investigator in this study.

continued m1 page (8’

3‘" ‘9’.

_ ODYSSEY

I’/7(}/I{L{I‘1l/’/l/)1'/(‘("/7tIIHI(I.\

(Kai/minw .\ [Hr/in ‘s‘
war/c on ado/Murat!
iii/Almm’ almw 1's
y/Or'mw/ (III the (m1—
er‘linn lu'lzmw
hm‘mmm (111d H's/{y
lm/Hntim‘ (if/WI] \.

ODYSSEY 8

is focusing on the connection het\\'een horn
mone leyels in teens and their propensity
toward impulsi\ e hehayior. including use of
\ arious suhstances. "\Ve know that a numher
of things escalate in the adolescent years.

including sexual hehayior. drug use. depress
sion and suicide." says Martin. an associate
professor of psychiatry at the medical center.
".-\nd we also knrm that hormones change.
()ne thing \\ e \\ anted to find out in this study
is the connection het\\ een hormone leyels
and drug use." l’re\ ious researchers. .\lartin
points out. haye found that nicotine and
alcohol use are correlated \\‘ith testosterone
leyels. hut fe\\' studies haye inyestigated other
possihle hormone triggers.
(:()*ill\’c.\lig;li()l‘:\1‘t'lt .\1'ainous is looking at
another facet of the issue. .\lainous‘. an
assistant professor in family practice at the
medical center. is interested in Various social
factors that may or may not lead to suhstance
use by teens. “Does it matter whether a 13*
year—old li\'es in a town of 5.000 people as
opposed to a large metropolitan area?" Mainous
asks. “\V'hat ahout access to alcohol—the fact
that a teenager li\‘es in a dry county? \V'hat
difference does religion make in the formula?

“'I 72;) [no/Minn (11
pitcher with flu) [in
(ﬂint/[in his
back par/{(4 is spl-
Iing (m (mun/211)
ZU/H’l/H’)‘ /I(’ infmdx

In or not. "

\\e're interested in all of these lactors ”

\lary \ ore. a professorof pltat‘ttiacolog\. is
lhe other researcher in\ol\ ed \‘in’L‘. also a
cwl’l on the project. has heen instrumental in
o\ erseeing the hlood analysis. ".\s part ofour
study. \\e took 3H cc of hlood front eaclt
student \\ho participated and packed it in
refrigerated L‘f >ntainers." \ ore say s The hli )( id
\\as analy /ed in 'l‘om (Zttrt‘y ‘s lah hack at l'l\':
(Turry is a 1k associate professor ofohstetrics
and gynecology.

Martin and \lainous sur\ eyed students at
t\\ o Kentucky high schi >olst one in llarhoun ille
iﬁ._%tlt) population) and one in (Imington
Gifiltlfl population). One hundred sixty
students at the schools participated—81 fe-
males and ‘0 males. liach student completed
a questionnaire that contained oyer 1&1) items.
and memhers of the study team took hlood
samples from the participants for hormone
eyaluations. The questionnaire focused on
drug. alcohol and nicotine use. depression.
impulsiyity. suicide and sexual actiyity.

“\V'e got tremendous cooperation from the
counselorsand administration at hoth scho< )ls."

A teenager’s decision to drink alcohol or not, it turned out,

was/n ’t nearly as (0n netted to whether the teenager lived in a

rural dry county or an urban wet county as it was determined by

the i ndividual’s religious beliefs and ‘ feelings of unmet needs.

says Martin. "which isn‘t always the case with
studies like this." The students. who had to
get parental consent forms signed. were paid
for their participation.

"Very few studies hayc tried to correlate
hormonal leyels to psychological characteris—
tics and high~risk behayiors such as suicide
attempts and unprotected sexual activity."
Martin says. "although theres clearly e\'i7
dence for hormonal changes of puberty cor—
relating with depression impulsiyity. and
risky behayior,” Some adolescents. she says.
are simply better equipped to handle devel~
opmental changes than others. "The problem
is that for a lot of teenagers. though. these
changes are stressful and the stress may he
compounded with drug use and other high
risk actions."

Martin reports seyeral "unexpected find
ings" that relate to the female hormones
estradiol and FSII (follicle stimulating hor-
mone ). Iistradiol is a hormone that stimulates
the dc\'elopment of female sex characteris~
tics. FSII is a hormone on the pituitary gland
that stimulates oyulation.

"In pre\ ious studies relatively high leyels of

estradiol and FSII have been associated with
depression and impulsiyity in females." Mar—
tin says. "but this is the first study to report the
association of these hormones with alcohol
use in females. We found a significant corro
lation, "Interestingly. we also found a pow»
erful correlation between FSII and suicidal
impulses in males and a negatiye correlation
in males between IBM and marijuana use."
Martin explains that although FSH is thought
of primarily as a female hormone. males haye
small amounts ofthe hormone just as females
haye yery low amounts of testosterone.
Other significant findings came from correA
lating students” responses with two other
hormones—1H and progesterone. LII is short
for "luteinizing hormone." which is related to
a females menstrual cycle and the male‘s
development of tissue in the testes. Proges—
terone. in females. functions to prepare the
wall of the uterus for the fertilized egg. "\V'e
were surprised to find a negative correlation
between LH and sexual behayior in males."
says Martin. "and our findings with progesten

continued on page It)

Survey Indicates Continuing Problem
with Youths and Substance Abuse

In the University of Michigan‘s
19th annual survey of American
high school seniors and their
third annual survey of eighth and
10th graders. the scientists report
a sharp rise in marijuana use
throughout the country at all three
grade levels. as well as an in—
crease in the use of stimulants.
LSD, and inhalants. They also
note an increase in smoking in all
three grades. A few of the many
other findings determined by the
survey include:

0 The use of inhalants (like
glue. solvents, and aerosols)
rose at all three levels and are
more likely to be used in the
earlier grade levels. investiga~
tors note. The researchers say.
"We don‘t think that young
people fully understand the
dangers of inhalants. perhaps
because most of the substances
inhaled are common house«
hold products: but they defi-
nitely can be lethal."

0 The legal drugs, alcohol
and cigarettes. are still the most
widely used at all grade levels.
Two—thirds of the eighth grad—
ers and nearly nine-tenths of
the 12th graders have tried

alcohol. Episodes of heavy
drinking. the researchers note.
are also common.

0 The study distinquished
three major racial/ ethnic groups
(white. black. and Hispanic) in
their analysis. The researchers
report that "in general. and
contrary to conventional wis—
dom. black students report the
lowest rates of use for virtually
all drugs. licit and illicit. and
this is true at all three grade
levels included in the survey."

The groups studied for the survey
in 1995 included 15500 students
in 128 schools for the 10th grad—
ers. 18.800 students in 159 schools
for the eighth graders. and ap—
proximately 17.000 seniors in
schools nationwide. The sutyey is
carried out annually by the Uni—
versity of Michigan‘s Institute for
Social Research.

Source: A report prtpurezl/or the
Erecutizte Office of {be President. ()[i‘ice
of.\'atiomtl Drug Control Policy: The
report was prepared by Dr, Richard
Clayton. {'uu'en‘tti' ofKerl/uc‘lgr. and
77.70 Allll Arbor Group. The report is
lit/eel "Increase in [Ive o/‘Selectezl Drugs:
Monitoring the Future Slutty (5/8/17.
10th. and 12th Gmelemilleettug ofthe
Amt Arbor Group. April 26—27. [994. "

Use of Marijuana Use of Inhalants
50 in Lifetime 50 in Lifetilne

~"I
5

8. z u) I 1‘ S /‘ I
i.
‘0 “a

My my, ,_v,/, .s‘u‘) Iii/iv l_’ltv (\‘llt unit [Jr/i
(WI/)1: MRI/)1 «any (IIT'II)IV (Mill)! (.A’ llil' MRI/14‘, tllxlllll. GRID]

L) ODYSSEY

one were very unexpected." The researchers
found that a relatively high level of proges-
terone in males was associated with a high
number of suicide at—
tempts. while a high

“In the same way research is trying to 1m] (,j- Proacmmm

find genetic markers which put some

in females correlated
with relatively few at—

zuomen at high iishfm‘ breast (anew; “WP“-

“\\"hat we‘re look>

we’re trying to discover markers that ins for.“ sass Mnrm

indicate an (it—iish teenager: ”

ODYSSEY 10

“are various predictors
that might put an ado—
lescent at risk. \‘i'e
could call them bit»
logicai vulnerabilities—ecatalysts toward imv
pulsiye or destructive behavior."

Martin and Mainous share an interest not
only in the connection between hormones
and impulsive behavior. but also between
adolescents needs and how they attempt to
fulfill these needs. "If you were to start with
the premise. for example. that testosterone
relates to alcohol but then include a further
\'ariable—accessibility of alcohol or lack of
Llc‘CCSS#\\'lltlt thenf' Mainous says,

The question of availability of alcohol led
the researchers to what Mainous calls. “the
most surprising finding in their research.“ A
teenager‘s decision to drink alcohol or not. it
turned out. wasn‘t nearly as connected to
whether he lived in a rural dry county or an
urban wet county as it was determined by his
religious beliefs and feeling of unmet needs,
The variable of "difficult access" to alcohol.
Mainous adds. turns out to be important only
for some teens. “Some adolescents will find
a place to get their beer or whiskey," Mainous
says. "Older siblings. friends. bootleggers.
The idea that a dry county means no teenage
drinking is simply not true."

Both Martin and Mainous underscore the
importance of distinguishing between use
and abuse among teenagers. In their survey.
the researchers adopted the National Insti4
tute on Drug Abuse standards. which define
“use" as having had a drink of alcohol. for
example. in the past 50 days. Martin points
out. though, that even the casual user is
susceptible to what is called the Gateway
Theory. “Though there may not be highly

dan