NCJ Number
123204
Date Published
1989
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A sample of over 328,000 students in grades six through 12 was used to analyze frequency of drug and alcohol by sex, race, and grade level. The findings are presented as gateway drug use (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) and other illicit drug use (cocaine, uppers, downers, inhalants, and hallucinogens).
Abstract
White males at the junior high school level and White females in high school were the most frequent cigarette smokers; the lowest using groups in both categories was black females. While beer and wine coolers are the alcohol beverages of choice among adolescents, liquor consumption may indicate progressive alcohol use. In general, males use more alcohol than females; these findings indicate that more white students use alcoholic beverages than black students, particularly at the senior high school level. Race was an important demographic variable in differentiating frequency of marijuana use among students: White male students were the most frequent users, while black females were the least using group. While few junior high school students reported cocaine use, the largest group among high school students was white males, followed by black males, white females, and black females. White male and female students reported about a ten percent usage rate for stimulants, compared to 3.3 percent and 1.5 percent rates for black males and females respectively. The same pattern emerged in the use of depressants, but the rates were lower than for use of stimulants. Inhalant use was the only category with similar user rates for junior and senior high school levels; again, white males and females were the highest using groups. White males at the senior high school level were also the largest groups of hallucinogen users, followed by white females, black males, and black females. Areas for further research are suggested. 9 tables. 18 references.