Factors in the Drug Involvement of Inner City Junior High School Youths: a Discriminant Analysis*

Abstract

DATA from a survey of youths attending an inner city junior high school were examined to learn how their demographic characteristics, socio-cultural experiences and the drug use existing among their neighbourhood peers related to their involvement with substances. Discriminant analysis uncovered two important factors that were associated with the youths' drug taking : (1) a street scene, social / recreational drug use factor and (2) a cluster reflecting friends' use of alcohol/ marijuana and other drugs. The implications of these results for drug abuse prevention programming are explored.