Black-White differences in adolescents' cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use.

Abstract

The present study uses large nationally representative samples and integrates existing sociological and social-psychological theoretical perspectives, (1) to test if known risk factors for increased drug use among White youth also relate to increased drug use among Black youth; and (2) to determine the extent to which Black-White differences in exposure and vulnerability to these risk factors account for Black-White differences in drug use. The findings indicate that although sociodemographic factors--(i.e., mother's education), number of parents in the home, urbanicity, region--do not consistently relate to drug use among Black youth, many of the other risk factors that past research has identified as significant correlates of drug use among White youth also significantly relate to drug use among Black youth. More specifically, Black seniors who get poor grades, who dislike school, who are frequently truant, who have low religious commitment, who enjoy risk taking, who spend a lot of evenings out for fun and recreation, who frequently ride around with friends, who often attend parties and concerts, and who have a lot of friends who use drugs, are likely to use drugs themselves. With regard to race differences, the results indicate that White seniors are more exposed than Black seniors to many of the risk factors for increased drug use and that controlling for Black and White seniors' differential exposure to the risk factors appreciably reduces the magnitude of the difference in their levels of use. The results of the study also indicate that net of differences in exposure, several of the risk factors, particularly perceived peer use and evenings out for fun and recreation, differentially impact Black and White seniors' drug use. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that in order to understand more fully the relationship between race and drug use, future research must either (1) move beyond simple additive models and include substantively important race related interactions, or (2) analyze data for Black and White youth separately.