The purposes of this chapter are threefold. It aims to establish an anchor for the consideration of drug use among students by examining that extreme group of students who have never had any of the major drugs with which our investigation was concerned. These total abstainers deny any use of tobacco, alcohol, amphetamines, sedatives, tranquilizers, marijuana, hallucinogens, illicit opiates, or special substances for kicks. Their characteristics are necessarily of interest, and because they are an anchor group, their characteristics should be kept in mind since descriptions will be offered in later chapters of those using various drugs. The second purpose of this chapter is to provide a perspective on the anchor group of total abstainers by comparing them with the total sample of students. Thus, what the trends in differences are should become apparent and, since the percentage differences are presented, just how great those differences may be. The third aim of this chapter is to provide a different perspective on later chapters by providing the base-line data showing—in major ways—how the total sample is distributed on those items of background, activity, interest, and ideology about which we inquired. Thus, the statistics which are provided in the comparison of abstainers with the total sample give, at the same time, the percentage distribution for that total sample.1

There are some differences among schools in the presence on campus of these total abstainers, although these do not prove to be significant at the .05 level. School V, the large state university, accounts for nearly two fifths of all abstainers; School II, the Catholic university, accounts for another fourth. In contrast, School IV, the big-city state college which has the highest proportion of illicit-drug users, has the fewest abstainers; there are also only a few at School III, the junior college, which ranks second in hallucinogen and marijuana use. There may be an inverse relationship between the experience rates for illicit drugs and the presence on campus of total abstainers. Presumably, the differences, if not chance variation, reflect demographic variables—in the case of the state university, the only one that is not located in a metropolitan area—variables associated with rural and conservative population characteristics. The image or tradition of a campus probably attracts and recruits students who expect the institution to be compatible with their background and views. There are likely to be social dynamics on a campus which consist of forces (for example, fundamentalist church groups) supporting the perpetuation of abstinence or protecting abstainers from drug proselytism. As we shall see, that "protection" is only temporary for most abstainers.

Looking at individual characteristics, we see that there are proportionately more abstainers among younger students than older ones (a sharp reduction occurring at age twenty-one and over), and among underclassmen. We find abstainers are also more heavily concentrated in technology and the hard sciences (29 per cent vs. 21 per cent) and less concentrated in humanities and arts (13 per cent vs. 17 per cent) as major fields of study. They come from families in the lower-income group—not from the poorest families (under $5,000 income are 4 per cent abstainers and 6 per cent of the total sample) but mostly from those in working- and lower-middle-class brackets (48 per cent in the $5,000 to $10,000 range vs. 28 per cent for the total population, only 13 per cent in the $15,000 to $25,000 range, and 4 per cent in the over-$25,000 family-income bracket vs. 19 per cent and 12 per cent for the total sample). They also come from intact families with both parents living and are from settled rather than mobile families, just as are most of the total sample. They differ from the total sample in religious affiliation, being much more often Protestant (54 per cent vs. total sample 39 per cent).

The abstainers are much more interested in religion than are students as a whole (36 per cent deeply interested vs. 19 per cent; 41 per cent mildly interested vs. 36 per cent; only 2 per cent with no interest compared with 5 per cent; only 2 per cent "intellectually" interested in religion compared with 8 per cent; and 16 per cent "philosophically" interested compared with the total population's 25 per cent). Abstainers are also slightly more likely to share their father's religion, 70 per cent doing so compared with 66 per cent in the total sample. More important, they share their mother's religion, 88 per cent doing so in contrast to 73 per cent in the total sample. As an outcome of the above, it is not surprising to see more abstainers in religious agreement with both parents-68 per cent—than students as a whole, who agree with both parents only 58 per cent of the time.

Participation in activities differs somewhat. Abstainers less often find athletics extremely important (16 per cent vs. 24 per cent) but join the majority in moderate participation (65 per cent terming athletics very important, important, or occasionally important vs. 58 per cent among the whole population; only 16 per cent of abstainers and 15 per cent of the total call athletics of very little or "no importance").

As would be anticipated from the earlier items on religious interests, the religious activities of abstainers are greater. Thirty-six per cent say participation is extremely or very important compared with 18 per cent of the total sample, while at the other extreme 20 per cent say such activities are of very little importance as do 19 per cent of the total sample, but none among the abstainers says he is totally uninterested. On the other hand, 15 per cent of the total sample say such activities are of no interest at all. Political participation is less among the abstainers; 37 per cent consider political participation of very little importance or of no interest at all compared with 29 per cent among the total population. Activities involved with seeking new experiences are also less important, for while only 23 per cent of the abstainers find it extremely important to seek new experiences, 44 per cent of the total population say these activities are important. At the other extreme, 7 per cent of the abstainers find activities that are part of seeking new experiences to be of little importance, whereas only 3 per cent of the total sample find them of little or no importance. The two groups are about the same in regard to the importance of activities which further their academic-scholastic and future careers (getting good grades, school projects, and so on) ; 45 per cent of the abstainers and 46 per cent of all students find these extremely important and 52 per cent vs. 46 per cent find them very important or important. On the other hand, none among the abstainers is uninterested in school-career activities, whereas 3 per cent of the total sample say they find academic pursuits of very little importance or of no importance whatsoever.

On the political spectrum which reads from right to left, one finds the abstainers consistently more conservative. The table below presents the progression for the abstainers and the total sample on the scale which we used.

Political involvement is also reduced among the abstainers, 34 per cent of them being active or strongly interested in politics compared with 39 per cent among the total sample. In the range of mild or moderate interest are 59 per cent of the abstainers and 55 per cent of the total sample, while in the extreme range of apathy and no interest are 7 per cent abstainers and 5 per cent of the total sample. Forty-six per cent of both groups say their ideas are undergoing change. The directions differ however. Only 11 per cent of the abstainers see themselves as moving left, whereas 19 per cent of the total sample say their trend is leftward; 2 per cent of the abstainers are moving right and 14 per cent center compared with 5 per cent right and 11 per cent center in the total group. There is more political agreement between fathers and student abstainers than in the total sample; of the former 34 per cent are in complete agreement and 39 per cent in partial agreement with their father; among the students as a whole, 27 per cent are in total political agreement and 43 per cent in partial agreement. The complete disagreement figures are 11 per cent vs. 20 per cent. We also find more political agreement with mothers and student abstainers as follows: full agreement 39 per cent, partial 45 per cent, and none 11 per cent, whereas in the total sample the figures are 28 per cent, 44 per cent, and 18 per cent.

Students were asked whether their parents were quick to give medicines or home remedies to them as children or whether, instead, they were reluctant and medicated only if they were really very sick. In answer we find 16 per cent of the abstainers reporting that their parents were quick to medicate, 66 per cent considering them average, and 16 per cent reluctant to say. Students as a whole, compared to abstainers, view their parents as having been somewhat more ready to medicate, 23 per cent consider them quick to medicate, 57 per cent consider them average in this area, and 19 per cent are reluctant to say. Asked whether, in looking back on childhood illnesses, they recall any advantages to having been sick, 75 per cent of the abstainers say "no." Compare that with only 47 per cent of the total sample recalling at least some advantages in childhood illness. A third parent-evaluating question in regard to illness revealed nothing. One may wish to consider the abstainers' replies to these questions as indicative of a response tendency on their part to take the middle ground rather than the extremes in reviewing parent-child health factors. Estimating how much their parents worried about their health as children—from paying little attention to being very much concerned-36 per cent of the abstainers and 34 per cent of the total consider their parents as having been very much concerned-63 per cent and 61 per cent as having had an average concern and 2 per cent and 5 per cent as having had an overconcern.

In another question we listed nineteen issues, stands, values, or ways of life and asked students to rate their parents as for or against that value and to rate themselves the same way. The topics were political/religious pacifism, socialism-Marxism, the radical right, liberals, integration of Negroes, getting out of Vietnam, escalating the war in Vietnam, patriotism, sexual freedom, psychiatry and psychiatrists in general, atheism, religious mysticism, organized religion, prayer, taking prescribed medicine, birth control, abortion, admitting Red China to the United Nations, and making money. The sum of topics in this grouping on which father-mother-student all agreed became an agreement or family-homogeneity score. The sum of items on which father and mother agreed but the student disagreed became a student-to-parent-opposition score. The range of possible scores on both was from 0 to 19. Our findings show that among abstainers 50 per cent agree with their parents on twelve or more topics. Only 11 per cent agree on six topics or fewer, and 18 per cent agree on sixteen topics or more. For the sample as a whole, 50 per cent agree with their parents on eleven topics or more with 15 per cent agreeing on only six topics or fewer and 8 per cent agreeing on sixteen topics or more. In regard to oppositional tendencies, 50 per cent of the ab-. stainers disagree with the common stand of their parents on four or fewer topics, 7 per cent disagree on ten or more, and 13 per cent disagree on only one or on no topics. For the sample as a whole, 50 per cent disagree with a common parental stand on six topics or fewer, 14 per cent disagree on ten or more, and 7 per cent disagree with both their parents on only one or on no topics. We conclude that abstainers tend to be in agreement with their parents on major issues more often than does the total sample.

We asked three questions about school satisfaction: satisfaction with course work and subject matter, with teachers, and with school as a whole. These inquiries correspond to some industrial morale measures which have as components satisfaction with work, supervision, and company. Answers indicate that 59 per cent of abstainers are completely satisfied with course work as are 53 per cent of the total sample; among abstainers 5 per cent are thoroughly dissatisfied compared with 7 per cent among students as a whole. Satisfaction with teachers is complete for 63 per cent of the abstainers compared with only 50 per cent of the total sample; total dissatisfaction affects 7 per cent of the abstainers and 6 per cent of the total; a mixed reaction characterizes 30 per cent of the abstainers and 44 per cent of the whole. Abstainers are satisfied with their school as a whole in 71 per cent of the cases, have mixed reactions in 27 per cent of the cases, and 2 per cent are completely dissatisfied. The total sample figures are as follows: satisfaction, 62 per cent; mixed, 29 per cent; dissatisfaction only 9 per cent. The dissatisfaction component is clearly less among abstainers; whether this reflects higher morale as such, comfort with the status quo, or simply a reluctance to complain or "bitch" can be argued.

A number of items focused on school performance. With regard to the number of incomplete grades within the last year, abstainers indicate they had almost none; only 4 per cent took incompletes and in each case only one incomplete grade was taken. The total sample performed less well; 10 per cent took incompletes and among these students 3 per cent took two or more incomplete grades. On grade points (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1) the average grade point for abstainers in the past year was 2.7 or B—. For the whole samples. it was 2.8, which is also B—.

Students were asked whether they had ever dropped out of school for other than health reasons. Two per cent of the abstainers indicate that they had once dropped out as compared with 14 per cent of the total sample. Asked whether they were seriously thinking now of dropping out, 89 per cent of the abstainers report "no," 9 per cent are considering it, and 2 per cent are really serious about doing so. Among students as a whole, 89 per cent say "no," 6 per cent are considering it, and 4 per cent say they are intending to drop out of school. One question asked students what the relationship was between the way they wanted to live and their present course of studies. Among abstainers 68 per cent report their studies are relevant for both their life and career goals, 18 per cent say they are relevant only to career goals, 7 per cent to life goals, and 5 per cent say they are unrelated to either. The total sample yields 64 per cent seeing their studies as relevant to life and career, 15 per cent related to career only, 13 per cent to life goals, and 6 per cent saying studies are irrelevant for either. (We suspect the larger per cent in the total sample relating college to life goals would be arts and humanities or social-science majors.) Asked whether they were optimistic or pessimistic about really doing what they would like once school was finished, 86 per cent of the abstainers report they are optimistic and 9 per cent are pessimistic; among the total sample the figures are 79 per cent and 12 per cent. Students were also asked whether their life plans included efforts to make changes in the world so that the lives of many people would be different (and presumably improved). Such plans are claimed by 39 per cent of the abstainers and 44 per cent of the total sample. Those who do plan to work for a greater good—if we may call it that—were asked how optimistic they were that they—and people like themselves—could bring about the desired changes. Abstainers in 50 per cent of the cases are optimistic and 29 per cent uncertain; the total sample of constructive idealists—we think that is what they are—are optimistic only in 22 per cent of the cases and are uncertain 23 per cent of the time. The pessimists account for 16 per cent of the abstainers and 7 per cent of the sample. What accounts for the missing proportion among the total sample are 48 per Lent who are indifferent or who neither can say or are unwilling to reply. Thus, indifference or uncertainty characterizes the plans of most idealistic students in the total sample, whereas the abstainers are much more optimistic. Students were asked—on another dimension of optimism-pessimism or hope vs. reality—to compare life as they now knew it with what they had expected it to be like when they were younger. We find that 29 per cent of the abstainers say it is as they expected, 20 per cent say it is better, 5 per cent say it is worse, 32 per cent say it is both better and worse, and 13 per cent say it is different without being either better or worse. Total-sample figures are as follows: as expected 14 per cent, better 22 per cent, worse 9 per cent, better and worse 30 per cent, and different 23 per cent. The abstainers emerge as at least seeing themselves as having been more realistic and less often surprised.

Students were asked about their relationships to groups, their views and involvements in them. Membership in organized groups was held, at the time of interviewing, equally by both samples with the abstainers as follows: no groups 52 per cent, one group 25 per cent, two or more groups 23 per cent. The total sample figures are: no group 50 per cent, one group 27 per cent, two or more 23 per cent. Students were given a list of groups, some of them close to them and real and others classifiable as abstract entities, with which they might or might not identify or feel sympathy. They were asked, after an explanation of the intent of the question, to indicate how they felt about each—either as an insider or an outsider. The groups listed are as follows: their own families, the student body at their college, the people living in their residence unit (home, dorm, and so forth), the majors in their department, the intellectual-creative community (professors, writers, poets, scientists), the student revolt and New Left on campus, the student government, adults who hold power in the university, people holding power in the United States, being an American, traditional middle-class values, Western culture, and the age of technology. We find scores from this expanding universe (or hodgepodge) of groups ranging from being "out" (alienated, unsympathetic, and so forth) with from zero to thirteen. Abstainers average being an outsider on three of the thirteen with only 4 per cent feeling outside of seven or more groups. The total-sample average is to feel an outsider on four groups, with 10 per cent feeling outside of seven or more groups. Another question asked students what they considered to be the most dangerous group in the United States today. Among abstainers 7 per cent identify those presently in power, the Establishment; 55 per cent say left-wing or other change-oriented groups, 2 per cent identify middle-of-the-roaders, 45 per cent say right wingers, and 5 per cent identify criminal elements. In the total sampre the distributions are: those in power 7 per cent, left wing 46 per cent, middle-grounders 4 per cent, right wingers 53 per cent, and criminal groups 3 per cent.

Another group of questions asked about the use of minor drugs and experience with strong painkillers and anesthetics. We find none of the abstainer group reporting ever having received medically prescribed or administered opiates—Demerol, Percodan, morphine, codeine, or the like. In contrast, 51 per cent of the total sample have received narcotics under medical supervision. Twenty per cent of the abstainers have undergone general anesthesia, another major mind-altering event. This compares with 70 per cent of the total sample who have had general anesthesia. These two sets of differences are remarkable and suggest very different experiences of the two samples either in illness, in medical care, or in the acceptance of medical intervention.

With reference to minor drugs, we find no abstainers who use coffee more than a few times a year; those who use it at all ("intermittently," defined as four times a year or less) constitute 38 per cent of the abstainer sample. In comparison, in the total sample only 20 per cent do not drink coffee, 14 per cent use it intermittently, and the remaining 67 per cent use it more often, either occasionally, regularly, or considerably.

Abstainers are also low on tea consumption. Sixty-one per cent do not drink it, 9 per cent take it intermittently, 7 per cent occasionally (less than once a week but more than four times a year), 9 per cent regularly (once a week or more), and 14 per cent considerably (daily or more). The total sample drinks much more tea. Only 20 per cent do not drink it, 14 per cent drink it intermittently, 29 per cent take it occasionally, 20 per cent regularly, and 18 per cent considerably.

Chocolate and cocoa drinks find the two samples closer in habits. Thirty-two per cent of the abstainers do not drink chocolate or cocoa whereas 21 per cent of the total sample do not. Intermittent use for abstainers occurs in 20 per cent and in the total sample 21 per cent, occasional use 23 per cent vs. 34 per cent, regular use 14 per cent vs. 17 per cent and considerable use 11 per cent vs. 7 per cent.

Cola drinking by the two groups shows heavier use among the total sample. Abstainers include 21 per cent who do not drink cola beverages, 20 per cent taking them intermittently, 34 per cent drinking them occasionally, 18 per cent regularly, and 7 per cent considerably. In the total sample the figures are: none 10 per cent, intermittent 9 per cent, occasional 26 per cent, regular 33 per cent, and considerable 23 per cent.

The use of stay-awakes (No-Doze and other caffeine-containing, over-the-counter stimulants) differs considerably and in an unexpected direction. Eleven per cent of the abstainers claim not to use stay-awakes compared with 64 per cent of the total sample. Thirteen per cent of the abstainers use them intermittently whereas 26 per cent of the total sample so employ them. Occasional use is by 29 per cent of the abstainers and 9 per cent of the total sample; regular use is by 36 per cent of the abstainers and only 1 per cent of the total; considerable use is by 13 per cent of the abstainers compared with only 0.3 per cent use by the total sample. These differences are dramatic and show that, in spite of their abstinence in almost all other areas, the "abstainers" do have a drug of choice and it is a stay-awake.

Asked about their use of mild painkillers and mild tranquilizers (aspirin, Bufferin, Bromo-Seltzer, Compa, Cope, Endin, and so forth) 84 per cent of the abstainers deny any use; none reports regular or considerable use. In contrast, only 4 per cent of the total sample (which means that members of the abstainer group account for almost all of the no-aspirin group in our entire sample) deny use of mild analgesics. Twenty per cent of the total sample report intermittent use, 60 per cent occasional use, 14 per cent regular use, and 2 per cent considerable use.

The final question, to be discussed here, asked students to state their beliefs about drugs that guided their own conduct in regard to their personal use of LSD, marijuana, and the like. Answers were coded in terms of positive-valence replies—those setting forth reasons for using these drugs or facilitating conditions for use—and negative-valence replies—those giving reasons why such drugs should not be taken, including barriers and restraining forces in the environment. Examining the replies, we find that no abstainers speak only of positive-valence principles; 88 per cent speak only of negative ones; and 12 per cent speak of both positive and negative ones. In the total sample, 61 per cent speak only of negative-valence factors, 8 per cent speak only of positive ones, and 31 per cent speak of both.

SUMMARY

Four per cent of the sample are total abstainers—students who have not tried alcohol, tobacco, or any other major drug. The proportion of abstainers varies by campus; fewest are found in the big-city college and the greatest proportion in a school which appears to draw more heavily from rural conservative families. As a group, abstainers tend to be—as compared with the total sample—young, from poorer but close-knit families, majoring primarily in technology or hard sciences, deeply religious (mostly Protestant), politically conservative but inactive, generally satisfied with what they are doing, and optimistic about the future. As for minor-drug use, abstainers rarely use coffee or tea but show very great use of stay-awakes in comparison with most students. As they stay in school, their abstinence tends to disappear and they blend into the majority (older) and approved drug-using group.

The total sample of students upon which this study is based are predominantly male (59 per cent) and from middle- and upper-middle-income families making $15,000 or over per year. About a third of the students are nineteen years old or younger, a third are twenty and twenty-one, and slightly less than a third are twenty-two years of age or older. Half of the sample are underclassmen. Majors are, by rank, the social sciences, technology and the hard sciences, the arts and humanities, and the biological sciences. Protestants are most common in the sample (38 per cent), Catholics rank second (33 per cent), and those claiming no religious affiliation are third (22 per cent). Three per cent are Jewish. The majority of the students describe themselves as moderately or "philosophically" interested in religion, with 5 per cent claiming no interest whatever. Most are in religious agreement with both parents; however, 18 per cent claim religious disagreement with both parents. Ninety-one per cent say that activities related to school work and future careers are important to them, 67 per cent say athletic participation is important to them, 44 per cent say political participation is important to them, 44 per cent say seeking new experiences is important, and 36 per cent say religious participation is important. Politically, more than three fourths are middle-of-the-roaders, 16 per cent are inclined to the radical left, and only 4 per cent to the radical right. The majority are in political agreement with both parents, although 20 per cent claim disagreement with both parents.

About half of the students are completely satisfied with their course work and teachers and 60 per cent with their school. Seven per cent express total dissatisfaction with courses, 6 per cent with teachers, and 9 per cent with the school as a whole. Ninety per cent took no incompletes the prior year; the grade-point average for all was a B—. Half of the students are members of one or more organized groups. Fourteen per cent dropped out at one time for other than health reasons and 10 per cent are thinking of doing so. Only two thirds of the sample see their courses as relevant to both their future lives and careers but 79 per cent are, nevertheless, optimistic about getting to do what they want to upon leaving school. The majority do not intend to change the world. Few find life to be as they expected it; yet only 9 per cent find it worse than they anticipated.

We would characterize the total sample as one comprised of diverse elements and subgroups—these differing markedly from campus to campus—but for whom the dominant trends are middle- and upper-middle-class backgrounds, family agreement, and middle-of-the-road politics. Science majors (including behavioral sciences) predominate, as do Protestant or Catholic religious affiliations. Most find school activities and athletic participation important and most are at least partly satisfied with courses, teachers, and school. They are generally optimistic, are not world shakers, and are pursuing their interests in preparing for lives and careers.

We would characterize abstainers as like the majority of the total sample except for being younger, poorer, more conservative and religious, and more satisfied with present and future prospects.

1 The total sample as presented includes the 4 per cent of the students who are in the abstainer group. This is advantageous in the sense that total-sample statistics are not made erroneous by the subtraction of a subgroup. On the other hand, the comparisons with the abstainer group are always slightly inaccurate and attenuated, since the abstainer group is still within the total sample with which it is compared. Keep in mind that all contrasts would be greater were the total sample not to include abstainers.