Age of Onset, Periods of Risk, and Patterns of Progression in Drug Use Among American Indian High School Students

• NCJ Number: 129904
• Journal: International Journal of the Addictions Volume: 22 Issue: 12 Dated: (1987) Pages: 1269-1276
• Author(s): J O Okwamabua; E J Duryea
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A self-report questionnaire was administered to 227 Native American high school students to examine the age of onset, patterns of progression, and periods of risk for drug use among this population.

Abstract

The results, which focus on use of marijuana, solvents, and cocaine, indicate that Native American youth begin using these drugs as well as cigarettes and alcohol as early as 10 years of age. The period of greater risk for initiation of drug use is between 10 and 13 years. Native American youth follow the sequential progression experienced by most adolescents, which is a development from quasi-legal to illicit drug experimentation. Drug prevention programs which aim to reduce the risk of initiating the use of drugs rather than reducing the rate of drug use among older users, by preventing very early exposure to quasi-legal drugs, would be beneficial. 1 table, 4 figures, and 13 references