NCJ Number
153434
Journal
Journal of Abnormal Psychology Volume: 99 Issue: 1 Dated: (1990) Pages: 86-91
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Data from the National Longitudinal Youth Survey were analyzed to study relationships between antisocial behaviors in early adolescence (ages 14-15) and adolescent alcohol and drug use 4 years later, when the adolescents were 18-19.
Abstract
The participants came from a national probability sample of 5,700 females and 5,700 males born between 1957 and 1964 and between ages 14 and 21 in 1979. Participants were interviewed annually from 1979 through 1985; the sample had a retention rate of 95 percent across the seven waves of measurement. Results revealed that correlations between classes of antisocial behaviors in early adolescence and drug use in late adolescence were of higher magnitude and more uniform for males than for females; For females, property offenses (e.g., vandalism) in early adolescence were more highly associated with alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and illicit drug use in late adolescence than with either juvenile status offenses or crimes against persons. Multiple regression analyses indicated that drug involvement in early adolescence was a significant predictor of alcohol and drug use in late adolescence. Additional significant predictors included early adolescent general delinquency, male gender, and nonblack ethnicity. Tables and 22 references (Author abstract modified)