Role of Ethnicity and Gender in Polydrug Use Among a Longitudinal Sample of Inner-City Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 184419
• Journal: Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 1999 Pages: 1-12
• Author(s): Jennifer A. Epstein; Gilbert J. Botvin; Kenneth W. Griffin; Tracy Diaz
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1 R03 DA 12432; 1 R18 CA 39280
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Cancer Institute
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study attempts to determine whether ethnic and gender differences in polydrug use existed among a cohort of inner-city adolescents during a 3-year middle school period.

Abstract

Students in 22 urban schools completed self-report questionnaires with measures of drug use (smoking, drinking and marijuana use) at three annual assessments. For participating students (n=2,354), analyses of variance were conducted to test for ethnic group (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White) and gender differences in polydrug use. Ethnic differences were found for polydrug use measures at each assessment point. Asian and Black adolescents generally reported less polydrug use than White and Hispanic youth. When gender differences were evident, boys engaged in more use than girls. The relatively high rates of polydrug use indicate that prevention intervention programs that target multiple substances may be more efficient in reducing overall risk than prevention programs that focus on a single substance. Table, references