Alcohol and Other Drug Use among Adolescents with Disabilities

This study assessed the incidence rates of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among a sample of five groups of adolescents: (1) nondisabled students, (2) learning disabled students, (3) behaviorally disordered/less aggressive students, (4) behaviorally disordered students, and (5) behaviorally disordered/self-contained students. The learning disabled, behaviorally disordered/less aggressive, and nondisabled students reported similar AOD use rates. The behaviorally disordered/self-contained students reported substantially more AOD use than the other groups. The behaviorally disordered students reported higher usage of some AODs, but the differences were not as dramatic as those of the behaviorally disordered/self-contained group.