Applications of ADAM Data For Guiding Policy and Practice (Video)

• NCJ Number: 187764
• Author(s): Dana Hunt; Bruce Taylor
• Date Published: May 2001
• Length: 0 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Research in Progress Seminars
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This video lecture describes research in progress with ADAM drug data, with attention to how such data are being used to guide local policy and practice in efforts to counter drug-related crimes.

Abstract

ADAM data are derived from interviews and urine testing that are designed to determine the prevalence of the use of various drugs by arrestees, along with selected factors associated with such drug use. The presentations of two researchers include descriptions of some new forms of ADAM data collection, namely, a change in survey content that includes the use of the "calendar" method, along with probability sampling. The calendar method of interviewing asks arrestees to recall the chronology of significant events in their lives within the last 12 months. The sample used in the current study is also described. It consisted of arrested felons in 27 sites interviewed in the year 2000. All participants were adult male arrestees. Marijuana use was found to predominate in the sample across sites, but cocaine use was prominent in some sites. There was also heavy drinking among the arrestees. The value of the ADAM data is considered unique in its focus on local drug consumption among persons who are charged with committing felonies. Such data are particularly valuable in determining patterns of drug use in the community, the geographic distribution of drug use, and the nature of drug transactions and trafficking. These analyses in turn can be useful for determining the types of interventions most appropriate for a local jurisdiction.