Drug Use in High School: Race and Gender Issues

Abstract

Drug use was examined in a sample of high school students from a small city of 16,000 predominantly working-class residents. There were 579 high school participants (296 girls and 283 boys) of whom 102 were Black (53 girls, 49 boys). The analyses were based on responses to a self-report questionnaire administered to students by their classroom teachers. Items for this study were selected from a larger database that was part of a community-wide project. The findings did not support the general consensus among professionals who provide services to this age group that minority youth are more at risk for drug use than their White peers are. The White students were more likely than the Black students to have had exposure to legal and illegal drugs. Whites more than Blacks, and boys more than girls, used tobacco, but White females were more likely than the others to be alcohol users. Also, Black males reported the highest self-esteem, and White females, the lowest. These self-esteem reports were supported by the results from a question about thoughts of suicide—Black males reported the lowest percentage of suicidal thoughts, and White females reported the highest.