Indicators of Adolescent Drug Users in a Clinical Population

Research indicates that drug use by adolescents may be influenced by a number of variables. Among the variables that have been associated with drug use are gender, ethnicity, various forms of maltreatment, and parental use of drugs and alcohol. A logistic regression analysis performed on a sample of 1867 adolescents indicated that a combination of physical abuse, sexual abuse, history of familial drug use, family violence, ethnicity, and a history of familial violence were significant in differentiating substance abusers from non-abusers. A Principle Components Analysis indicated that the significant variables grouped among three dimensions: violence, history of parental drug use, and ethnicity. Implications for a multidimensional approach to intervention are discussed.