Substance Abuse Prevention for High-Risk Youth: Exploring Culture and Alcohol and Drug Use

This pilot study explores issues of culture and alcohol and other drug use in relation to substance abuse prevention with high-risk youth, with a particular interest in Latinos/as and acculturation. Many of the prominent prevention studies are school based, missing some of the youth at very highest risk for alcohol and drug use and abuse. Consequently, this study was conducted in community settings with youth from high-risk neighborhoods and environmental conditions including a homeless youth shelter, an alternative learning setting, and a low-income community program. The data indicated a high lifetime prevalence of drug use (over 80% for Whites and Latinos for beer, wine, liquor, and marijuana), with consistently lower prevalence rates observed among African-Americans. In addition, the study found significant ethnic differences in substance use (last 30 days) in the sample (median age = 16), with African-Americans reporting significantly lower incidence of marijuana and cocaine use (p < .05) than other youth. Implications for prevention, intervention and future research are discussed. (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.