NCJ Number
140360
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1992) Pages: 444-458
Date Published
1992
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Although drug use among teenagers has declined significantly over the past decade, adolescents raised in impoverished urban communities continue to be at high risk for involvement in drug use and sales and for serious juvenile delinquency.
Abstract
Such youth often exhibit behavioral problems in school, associate with delinquent peers, have inadequate supervision at home, and are typically not helped by school-based drug resistance training programs. Findings from recent longitudinal studies and interactional theory suggest that preventive interventions with these youth must address a wide range of problems and service needs. One of the critical problems facing any program intended to serve youth relates to getting them involved. The evidence is clear that adolescents who are at risk of substance abuse because of their own or their parents' involvement with drugs are also at risk for serious juvenile delinquency, school failure or dropout, and teenage pregnancy. Urban youth are more likely to be at risk for substance use, whereas poor minority youth are more likely to be at risk for drug sales. Patterns of substance abuse among adolescents are examined, as well as overlap between substance abuse and other problem behaviors and correlates and predictors of substance abuse and juvenile delinquency. 57 references