JUVENILE DRUG TRAFFICKERS

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The proliferation of violent crime in the United States has fostered the developing relationship between the health care and criminal justice fields. One area where the interface between the medical and justice professions is particularly salient is the violence associated with sale of illicit drugs. Juvenile drug sellers have been found to be particularly at risk for both perpetrating and being the victims of violent crimes. In addition, these youth are also reported to be at greater risk for substance abuse. We have recently found, however, that youth incarcerated in Virginia for drug selling offenses tended to be less violent, and did not present with a higher incidence of drug and/or alcohol dependence than other delinquent comparison groups. On the other hand, youth engaged in significant patterns of delinquency, in addition to drug selling activities, may have been adjudicated for these other offenses, and thereby excluded from our sample. We have identified a second population of juvenile drug sellers within the juvenile correctional setting. These youth are postulated to differ from our earlier sample with respect to increased levels of violence, delinquency and substance use. We have also recently documented a high rate of gunshot injuries in juvenile drug traffickers, as well as other delinquent youth. One variable found to correlate reliably with these injuries was an increase in self-reported promiscuity, possibly reflecting a generalized pattern of high risk behavior. Thus, it is further hypothesized that the epidemiology and etiology of penetrating trauma (e.g., firearm or knife injuries) are related to substance use, drug trafficking and other high risk behaviors. Therefore, the goal of this study is to compare and contrast the substance use patterns, levels of delinquency, violence and other high risk behaviors, including penetrating trauma and high risk sexual activity, in the two populations of juvenile offenders engaged in drug selling activities. The results of this research will allow for a better characterization of juveniles who sell drugs, as well as identify antecedents for gunshot and high risk behaviors in delinquent youth such that effective treatment programming may be developed and implemented.