Attitudes of high school students towards the use and users of marijuana and alcohol

This thesis deals with the attitudes of students of two secondary schools to marihuana, alcohol use and their users. Attitudes to alcohol, marihuana and to their users are topics frequently discussed in connection with changing perception of these two substances. This trend can be best seen in adolescents during the period of late adolescence which is the period of secondary school studies. The main aim of the thesis is to find out which factors influence the attitudes of students to alcohol and drug use and if there are any differences concerning those factors between the observed schools. These factors come from theoretical considerations which are subsequently tested in research. As the research showed, the students' attitudes to marihuana and alcohol use, and also to alcohol users are primarily influenced by significant others, among which belong mainly peers and their parents or their own experience. While the individuals form their attitudes to alcohol primarily according to their parents, in case of marihuana, the individuals, who have experience with it, follow mainly their peers and their own experience. Those individuals also tend to be more positive towards other marihuana users. There have not been found out any significant differences concerning the attitudes to marihuana and alcohol..