Black/White Differences in Adolescent Drug Use: A Test of Six Hypotheses

Abstract

Six specific hypotheses have been developed to account for why Caucasians have higher rates of drug use compared to African-Americans. This article utilizes data from a South Florida-based community study of 893 young adults (1998–2002) to test these hypotheses. Specifically, Caucasians (1) initiate drug use at younger ages than African-Americans and (2) have more discretionary financial resources to fund their use than African-Americans. The findings presented here indicate that the racial gap in drug use may be attenuated by these aspects of use in early adulthood; implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• adolescence
• hypothesis testing
• race/ethnicity
• substance use

Notes

Significantly different from Whites, ***p < .001.

**p < .01. *p < .05.

^a Analyses limited to respondents who used alcohol/drugs in their lifetime.

**p < .01.

Significantly different from males, ***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.

Significantly different from high school graduates, ***p < .001. **p < .01.

^a Analyses limited to respondents who used each drug in their lifetime.

***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.

Significantly different from the low SES category, ***p < .001. **p < .01. *p < .05.