Dropping Out of High School and Drug Involvement

The relationship between dropping out of high school and substance use was explored using the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Adults, a national longitudinal sample of young Americans aged 19-27 in 1984. Cross-sectional data indicated that high school dropouts were more involved with cigarettes and illicit drugs than were graduates and that those who obtained a graduate equivalency diploma were the most intensely involved. Event-history analysis indicates that, controlling for other important risk factors, prior use of cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs increases the propensity to drop out and that the earlier the initiation into drugs, the greater the probability of premature school leaving. Thus, preventing or at least delaying the initiation of drug use will reduce the incidence of dropping out from our nation's high schools.