Does marijuana use serve as a gateway to cigarette use for high-risk African-American youth?
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this investigation was to test whether the gateway hypothesis of drug initiation sequencing applies equally well to high-risk African-American and Caucasian youth.


METHODS
The study sample (N = 618, mean age = 15.5, SD = 1.2) represented the population of residents in the Missouri Division of Youth Services (DYS) who had initiated marijuana and nicotine use.


RESULTS
As hypothesized, African-American youth were significantly more likely to initiate marijuana use before cigarette use. Over one-third of African Americans reported initiating marijuana before cigarettes (37.9%), compared to less than one-quarter of youth in the other ethnic groups (Caucasian = 17.3%, Latino/Latina = 21.7%, Biracial/Other = 20.8%). Further, multinomial simulation and logistic regression models revealed that African-American youth were significantly more likely than other ethnic groups to initiate marijuana before cigarettes (Adjusted OR = 3.53, CI = 1.92-6.46). CONCLUSIONS/SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Findings suggest that the hypothesized gateway sequence may not apply equally well to African-Americans, and that prevention efforts based on this theory may need to be amended for these youth.
Vaughn
Michael
M
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. mvaughn9@slu.edu
Wallace
John
J
Perron
Brian
B
Copeland
Valire
V
Howard
Matthew
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D008923:Missouri; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000523:psychology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States