MEXICAN-AMERICAN DROPOUTS AND DRUG ABUSE

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This study will investigate the relationship between dropping out and drug use among Mexican-American youth. Half of all Hispanics in the U.S. are Mexican-Americans, and they are the fastest growing and one of the youngest minority groups. They have a school dropout rate as high as 45% in some locations. Both Anglo and Mexican-American dropouts from three southwestern school districts will be studied. Included will be youth from a large city, a medium sized city and a smaller community. Each dropout will be matched with two control subjects. One comparison subject will be an "at-risk" youth matched for grade, gender, ethnicity, age, and grade-point average during the last full year of school. The other will be a "non-dropout", matched only for grade, gender and ethnicity. Youth will be asked to take a questionnaire that includes detailed drug use information, and that assesses social, psychological, and cultural characteristics along with violence and victimization. Analyses will examine the relationship between social, cultural, and psychological factors, drug use, and dropping out. Follow-up data will be collected from dropout and control subjects three years after dropout to determine attrition rates and drug use, social, psychological and cultural characteristics of found and not found subjects to assess feasibility of a cohort longitudinal study.