Abstract
Introduction: In tracking the epidemic of drug use in our communities, much emphasis
has been placed on identifying predictive variables. In this study, we examine the
relationship between drug use and school progress among a sample of inner-city adolescents.
Methods: A blinded, anonymous questionnaire covering a variety of health risk behaviors
was administered to 1,720 adolescent patients who visited our outpatient clinic. Participants
were classified as age-appropriate for last school grade completed, older than normal
for grade, or as a dropout. A urine specimen was also collected in a blinded, anonymous
fashion from each participant, and tested for five common substances of abuse.
Results: Nearly 12% of participants tested positive for drugs. Participants who were
old for grade were over 40% more likely to be positive for drugs than grade-appropriate
respondents, while school dropouts were more than twice as likely to test positive.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate that being old-for-grade (OFG) and being a
dropout in our population are markers for being at higher risk of substance abuse.
Keywords
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© 1998 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
