LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG MARIJUANA/HASHISH USE, COCAINE USE AND DELINQUENCY IN A COHORT OF HIGH RISK YOUTHS (FROM DRUGS AND CRIME, P 67-108, 1993, RICHARD DEMBO, ED. - SEE NCJ-142736)

• NCJ Number: 142740
• Author(s): R Dembo; L Williams; A Getreu; L Genung; J Schmeidler; E Berry; E D Wish; L La Voie
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 42 pages
• Sale Source: University Press of America
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Data from a longitudinal study of detained juveniles were examined to determine the relationship between juvenile drug use and crime over time.

Abstract

The 201 participants were part of a group of 399 Florida resident detainees admitted to a regional detention center in the Tampa Bay area. All female detainees and a half-random sample of the males were invited to take part. The 201 youths were reinterviewed in the community or in a detention center following arrest or admission by court order. Seventy-four percent were male. Fifty-four percent were white and 38 percent were black. Results revealed that self-reported juvenile delinquency and alcohol use before the initial interview were crucial predictors of reported delinquent behavior during the 10-month to 15-month followup period. In addition, self-reported drug abuse and urinalysis test results taken at the initial interview, as well as prior delinquent behavior were significant predictors of the use of marijuana/hashish and cocaine over time. Results suggested that if society had invested effective services for these youths and their families early in their lives, much human potential could have been saved and the personal and social costs of their delinquent and criminal behavior reduced substantially. Tables, notes, and 71 references (Author abstract modified)