FACTORS AFFECTING DRUG USE OUTCOMES AMONG YOUTH AT RISK

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The proposed research aims to investigate the associations between psychosocial and community factors and drug use outcomes among youth who are at risk for heavy drinking, inhalant use, or illicit drug use as a result of negative family factors, through secondary analysis of a large and underutilized statewide sample of high school students. Youth who live in single-parent families or foster homes, who are frequently unsupervised, and do not feel close to their families are at increased risk for drug use and heavy drinking. Yet, even in the highest risk groups, the majority of youth do not become habitual drug users. Furthermore, as it is not always possible to intervene with the family, we need to be able to help youth in spite of their family situation. We are interested in identifying psychosocial characteristics which may help a youth to cope with a difficult family situation, or impede his or her coping, leading to drug use and other nondesireable outcomes. We are also interested in characteristics of the school or community which may have an impact on the behavior of these youth. The analyses will be carried out using data from the Illinois Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA) Youth Study on Substance Use, 1993 and 1995. In addition to questions about drug use, the survey includes questions about family structure, family relationships, other relationships, participation in sports and other activities, beliefs about drug use, feelings of depression, and other psychosocial variables. Data is also available on the size and type of school, drug education in the school, and local economic conditions. The results of these analyses can inform the development of prevention and intervention strategies, and may lead to new hypotheses and theories to guide further research.