NCJ Number
164145
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 31 Issue: 10 Dated: (1996) Pages: 1279-1310
Date Published
1996
Length
32 pages
Annotation
Data from 1,617 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white high school students in the same Texas community formed the basis of an analysis of the prevalence, age of initiation, and patterns of juvenile drug use.
Abstract
In the spring of 1992 the participants completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results revealed ethnic differences in current smoking, having used alcohol in the past month, heavy drinking on a single occasion, and ever having used marijuana. The age of initiation of drug use and the pattern of use was similar for the two ethnic groups; for some youth, the initial experience of substance use occurs in elementary school. In addition, it appears that a moderate to large percentage of adolescents begin the use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine prior to age 15. Therefore, intervention programs must target youth both at a very early age and throughout junior high school. Tables, appended instrument, and 31 references