No abstract

Adolescent drug use increased until about 1981, but since then it has steadily declined. Current data show some drug use in the 4th and 5th grades and considerable increases from the 6th to the 9th grades. For drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and stimulants, lifetime prevalence continues to increase through high school; for drugs such as inhalants and heroin, lifetime prevalence may decline for Grades 10, 11, and 12, suggesting that students who use these drugs early may drop out. Drug use of rural youth is similar to that of other youth. Barrio, ghetto, and Native-American reservation youth may have high rates of use, but use of Black and Hispanic seniors may be equivalent to or less than that of White seniors. National data and broadly defined ethnic data, however, may cover up important subgroup differences. For example, Western Mexican-American girls have lower use than Western Spanish-American girls, possibly because of the greater influence of "marianisma." Different locations may also have very different patterns of adolescent drug use, calling for different types of local intervention.

No abstract

A new psychosotial model, peer cluster theory, suggests that the socialization factors that accompany adolescent development interact to produce peer clusters that encourage drug involvement or provide sanctions against drug use. These peer clusters are small, very cohesive groupings that shape a great deal of adolescent behavior, including drug use. Peer cluster theory suggests that other socialization variables, strength of the family, family sanctions against drug use, religious identification, and school adjustment influence drug use only indirectly, through their effect on peer clusters. Correlations of these socialization variables with drug use confirm the importance of socialization characteristics as underlying factors in drug use and also confirm that other socialization factors influence drug use through their effect on peer drug associations. Peer cluster theory suggests that treatment of the drug-abusing youth must alter the influence of the peer cluster or it is likely to fail. Prevention programs aimed at the family, school, or religion must also influence peer clusters, or drug use will probably not be reduced.

No abstract