Drug Use Patterns in Two Los Angeles Barrio Gangs (From Drugs in Hispanic Communities, 1990, P 155-165, Ronald Glick, Joan Moore, eds. -- See NCJ-133768)

• NCJ Number: 133774
• Author(s): J M Long
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: Rutgers University Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A sample of 157 former gang members (106 men and 51 women) over age 21, proportionately drawn from a stratified subset of the cliques in two Los Angeles barrios, were interviewed to determine the influence of gang peers and other factors on an individual's drug use.

Abstract

These former gang members initiated drug use at an early age, tended to be polydrug users, and used drugs extensively during their youth. Role models for drug use and drinking were common in their childhood homes. Two-fifths of the sample participants reported at least one member of their childhood family to be an alcoholic, and more than one-fourth identified a family member as a heroin addict. Typically, the earliest drug users in these barrios began by drinking alcoholic beverages or sniffing glue or paint thinner. At every age level through age 25, women in the sample reported considerably less use than men of all commonly used illicit substances, except for alcohol. A majority of the older participants continued to drink alcoholic beverages, but the use of heroin, marijuana, and other illicit drugs declined steadily after age 25. 4 tables