Current Gaps and New Directions for Studying Drug Use and Abuse Behavior in Minority Youth

Abstract

A literature review shows that despite the recent proliferation of research on the drug using-behavior of minority youth, we do not adequately understand the nature of this problem among these youth. There is a need to conduct more research to understand the patterns, prevalence, causes, and consequences of licit and illicit drug use among minority youth populations. The authors propose the development of an etiologic model and data collection approach for future research on this population.

Key Words:

• Drug use
• Theory
• Methodology
• Minority
• Policy