title: Drug use and violent crime among adolescents.
abstract: This study examines the extent to which alcohol and other drug use is related to violent and nonviolent criminal activity among adolescents males. Based on data collected from 312 youthful offenders at a public juvenile facility, the findings reveal that in comparison to marijuana and heroin, alcohol use is more strongly and consistently associated with both violent and nonviolent offenses. When other factors are introduced into the analysis, the results show that while an adolescent's criminal history and racial identity are relatively more important in predicting criminal activity overall, the effect of substance use (especially alcohol and marijuana) continues to be present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Dawkins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D015994:Incidence; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000453:epidemiology; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs