title: Young adult, rural, African American stimulant users: antecedents and vulnerabilities.
abstract: Early initiation of substance use appears to be an alarming trend among rural minorities. This study focuses on 18- to 21-year-old African American stimulant users in the Arkansas Mississippi Delta. Most participants had no high school diploma and were unemployed; 74.5% had already been arrested. Substance use was initiated early and nearly all of the men and three-quarters of the women already met criteria for lifetime abuse or dependence. Only 18% reported that they had ever received substance abuse treatment. The results suggest that substance use interventions in rural communities will require multi-faceted strategies addressing economic, educational and healthcare disparities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham, Slot 755, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. KramerTeresaL@uams.edu
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Xiaotong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Brenda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Booth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D001131:Arkansas; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult