NCJ Number
123121
Journal
Adolescence Volume: 25 Issue: 97 Dated: (Spring 1990) Pages: 171-181
Date Published
1990
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between drug use and delinquent behavior among 348 high school males (154 whites, 172 Mexican-Americans, and 22 blacks) and 89 adjudicated delinquent males confined to a maximum-security facility for violent and repeat offenders (37 whites, 25 Mexican-Americans, and 27 blacks).
Abstract
Data were collected in the spring of 1986 using self-administered questionnaires. Analyses were performed separately for each racial subgroup. Simple correlations revealed that self-reported alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal drug use were all significantly related to both minor and violent delinquency for all three racial groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the use of these substances accounted for 40 percent to 47 percent of the variance in minor delinquency and for 59 percent of the variance in violent delinquency among blacks, 53 percent of variance in violent delinquency among Mexican-Americans, and 34 percent of the variance in violent delinquency among whites. The best predictors of violent delinquency were the frequent use of illegal drugs other than marijuana and use of tobacco, in that order, among Mexican-Americans; the frequent use of other illegal drugs, marijuana, and tobacco, in that order, for whites; and the frequent use of illegal drugs, followed by marijuana, for blacks. 3 tables, 12 references. (Publisher abstract)