Inhalant use and risky behavior correlates in a sample of rural middle school students.
This study found 20.4% of children attending a middle school located in rural Mississippi had used inhalants to "get high", a figure that is much larger than the national average. Many (3.4%) students reported they had used inhalants on 10 or more occasions. Inhalant use was most associated with being younger, ever smoking, riding with a driver who had been drinking, and being involved in a fight. Nearly twice as many younger students reported usage in our sample compared to other studies. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to investigate whether use of inhalants is a precursor to other risky behaviors, and subsequent progression to alcohol abuse or illicit drug use.
Muilenburg
Jessica Legge
JL
University of Georgia, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, 311 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602, USA. jlm@uga.edu
Johnson
William D
WD
D000269:Adhesives; D000293:Adolescent; D000335:Aerosol Propellants; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D008922:Mississippi; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012997:Solvents; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
D000269:Adhesives; D000335:Aerosol Propellants; D012997:Solvents