A hierarchy of drug use in adolescene: behavioral and attitudinal correlates of substantial drug use.
The authors studied drug use in a representative sample of suburban junior and senior high school students. They found high levels of drug use overall and a substantial amount of drug involvement among junior high school students. They also found that drugs were used in clusters, that there was a distinctive age-related pattern of drug use, and that the progressive-step therory of drug use was not confirmed. A number of behavioral and attitudinal variables correlated with a tendency toward a high level of drug use. The implications of these findings include the need for targeted drug education and prevention programs and a differentiated approach to the study of drug use among adolescents.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003376:Counseling; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010379:Peer Group; D010551:Personality; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control