Gender Differences in Consequences of Teenage Drug Use

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of the study is to examine gender differences in the effects of adolescent drug use on young adulthood social role functioning. This study will provide a better understanding of how a behavioral life-style of drug involvement during adolescence affects an individual's social and interpersonal development and role fulfillment beyond the years of adolescence, and specifically, how males and females are impacted differently. The importance of focusing on the consequence of adolescent drug use is highlighted by the widespread nature of the problem, the potential devastating effects of continued use, and the lack of adequate research and theory on long-term consequences. Though it is generally assumed that drug use is problematic, there is a lack of evidence (1) demonstrating negative effects of drug use in adolescence, (2) connecting specific drugs to specific outcomes, and (3) comparing outcomes in males and females. An exploration of whether experimental drug use has negative long-term consequences and understanding gender differences in its consequences will help improve prevention programs and other public health activities. Though the range of potential consequences is tremendous, the proposed study, based on Life Course Theory, will focus on outcomes in three areas: (1) job functioning, (2) social integration (community involvement and friendship formation), and (3) family formation and stability (marriage and parenting). The proposed study will focus on gender differences with particular attention to consequences for female adolescents who use drugs. Very little effort has been devoted to understanding how the consequences of drug use differ by gender. Adolescent girls are increasingly becoming involved in using drugs; however, there is a lack of knowledge of whether the consequences are the same for males and females. As men and women have historically had different roles in society, it is expected that adolescent drug use will affect females differently than males later in life. This study will be conducted by examining data collected through interviews with an entire cohort of first graders in the Woodlawn community of Chicago who were followed from 1966-67 to the present time. Participants are African American and were mostly economically disadvantaged when the study began. Overall, they reported extensive involvement in drug use and varying degrees of later success. Structural equation modeling and regression will be employed to analyze the effect of adolescent drug use on multiple outcome variables.