title: The role of neighborhood in urban black adolescent marijuana use.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study examined the influence of neighborhood factors on transitions in marijuana involvement during adolescence in a sample of primarily low-income, urban Black youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  556 Black adolescents were interviewed annually beginning in first grade as part of a longitudinal study. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to examine stages of marijuana involvement from 6th to 9th grades. The influence of neighborhood disorder, drug activity, violent crime, safety and disadvantage on transitions in marijuana involvement was tested using latent transition analysis (LTA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was evidence for three stages of involvement: no involvement, offered, and use and problems. Involvement increased steadily during adolescence with a slightly greater risk to transition from offers to use between 6th and 7th grades. Neighborhood disorder (AOR=1.04, CI=1.00, 1.08), drug activity (AOR=1.12, CI=1.02, 1.22) and disadvantage (AOR=1.44, CI=1.10, 1.92) were associated with the transition from marijuana offers to use and problems. Neighborhood disorder (AOR=1.07, CI=1.02, 1.11), drug activity (AOR=1.19, CI=1.10, 1.29) and violent crime (AOR=1.17, CI=1.03, 1.32) were associated with transitioning rapidly from no involvement to use and problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding how neighborhoods could be organized and provided with supports to discourage marijuana use and promote non-drug using behaviors should be an important goal of any prevention program in low-income, urban Black neighborhoods. Enhancing citizen participation and mobilization to address the social processes of neighborhood disorder has the potential to reduce marijuana involvement in these neighborhoods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States. Electronic address: brebouss@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Reboussin
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD 20742, United States. Electronic address: greenkm@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Kerry M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. Electronic address: amilam3@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Milam
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. Electronic address: cfurrho1@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Debra M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Furr-Holden
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. Electronic address: rjohnson@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Renee M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. Electronic address: nialong1@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Nicholas S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Ialongo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011203:Poverty; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Adolescents; Blacks; Latent class; Latent transition; Marijuana; Neighborhood; Urban