Latent Patterns of Risk Behavior in Urban African-American Middle School Students in Baltimore City

• NCJ Number: 233479
• Journal: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: January - March 2011 Pages: 34-47
• Author(s): Sarra L. Hedden; Damiya E. Whitaker; Sarah Von Thomsen; S. Geoffrey Severtson; William W. Latimer
• Date Published: January 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): T32DA007292; DA015075
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined patterns of risk-taking behavior among a sample of African-American middle school students in Baltimore public schools.

Abstract

Students who engage in high-risk behaviors, including early initiation of sexual intercourse, alcohol use, marijuana use, tobacco use, and externalizing behavior are vulnerable to a broad range of adverse outcomes as adults. Latent class analysis was used to determine whether varying patterns of risk behavior existed for 212 urban African-American students from Baltimore public schools who were recruited as part of a study for the prevention of drug use. A two-class model was estimated. The proportion of the sample bearing a high probability of each of the five risk behaviors was 10.7 percent; in comparison, the proportion of students with a low probability of the risk behaviors was 89.3 percent. Controlling for other variables, older age and parental drug or alcohol use was associated with being in the high-risk class, whereas neighborhood was not predictive of latent class. Results from this study may be used to target early adolescents with co-occurring risk behaviors for prevention and treatment. Figure, table, and references (Published Abstract)