Early Precursors and Concurrent Correlates of Patterns of Illicit Drug Use in Adolescence

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Abstract
This study examines social, familial and child behavior antecedents of adolescent illicit drug use. The sample studied is a subsample of a follow-up sample of Manhattan children, whose mothers were interviewed at two points in time, with a 5 year interval. The subsample constitutes those study children age 14 to 22 at Time II, who were interviewed directly 6 months following the second interview with the mother. The findings indicate that early predictors have a significant and substantial influence on later illicit drug use. Importantly, differential patterns of illicit drug use exhibit relatively distinct antecedents. The use of marijuana-only is related to socioeconomic background and early child behaviors; the use of drugs other than marijuana is related to parental-marital behaviors, the quality of the bond between parents and children and early adjustment problems (with peers and at home); heroin use is strongly associated with parental-marital behaviors indicative of familial disorganization and parental antisocial behaviors.