A Retrospective Assessment of Inhalant Abuse in the Barrio: Implications for Prevention

Abstract

An interview questionnaire was administered to a group of primarily Hispanic identified inhalant users (N = 40) and a comparison group of neighborhood youths (N = 17) in the barrio of Phoenix, Arizona. This retrospective assessment revealed that inhalant abusers had a history of multiple problems, stressors, and difficulty with school and the criminal justice system; initiated drug use between the ages of 10 and 15; confined their drug use primarily to marijuana, alcohol, and inhalants; and often came from families with drug problems. Inhalant abusers from drug-involved families experienced more poverty and family disruption, perceived their friends as being more favorable to the use of drugs and inhalants, and were less involved in conventional youth activities (e.g., sports, school, church, hobbies) than were inhalant abusers from drug-free families. The results are discussed in terms of developing preventative programs for this population.

Volatile Solvent Use: Patterns by Gender and Ethnicity Among School Attenders and Dropouts

“…The greater lifetime prevalence and thirty-day prevalence rates for dropouts and controls are consistent with findings by other researchers (e.g., Bachrach & Sandler, 1985;Medina-Mora et al, 1978;SCNAC, 1987;Winburn & Hays, 1974). Indeed, it is apparent that a relationship exists between enrollment status and volatile solvent abuse--youths who drop out of school are more likely to have ever used volatile solvents than their in-school counterparts, and thirty-day prevalence rates show that dropouts are more likely to be currently involved with volatile solvents than controls.…”

“…A trend for higher use of solvents in areas of lower socioeconomic status was found for Mexican-American youth (Bachrach & Sandler, 1985). Padilla et al (1979) compared the volatile solvent use rates of 457 Mexican-American youth in the barrio to volatile solvent use rates from a national sample--they found that volatile solvent users in barrios were more likely to have ever used volatile solvents, and are at least 14 times more likely to be currently using volatile solvents.…”

Volatile Substance Misuse in the United States

“…Studies of specific ethnic populations, such as Cuban immigrants (Szapocznik, Daruna, Scopetta, & De Los Angeles Aranalde, 1977), Alaskan Eskimo youth (Zebrowski & Gregory, 1996), reservation-residing American Indian youth (Beauvais, Oetting, & Edwards, 1985), and residents of urban Barrio areas (Bachrach & Sandler, 1985) have often identified high prevalence of VSM and associated etiological factors (Howard, Walker, Walker, Cottler, & Compton, 1999).…”

The Three Common Behavioral Patterns of Inhalant/Solvent Abuse: Selected Findings and Research Issues

“…Large initial sample size is an important consideration as well, owing to the smaller prevalence rates for the later stages of inhalant abuse. The literature suggests the inclusion of a number of factors, such as family history of drug abuse, socioeconomic status (Bachrach & Sandler, 1985), disrupted family structure, peer associations, and social adjustment (Oetting et al 1988), in order to explain or to predict the progression of inhalant abuse. The data collected would not be anonymous, but would be confidential; however, in order to collect valid self-report data, the researchers must establish some rapport with the respondents to encourage honest responses.…”