Some Social Correlates of Student Drug Use

Abstract

It has been widely assumed that student drug users are differ ent from non-using students, and certain terms, such as "alien ated," have been employed to characterize the drug users. But until recently, little empirical research has ben done to specify the exact differences between the two groups. This study com pares drug users and non-users sampled from the student body of a private high school in New York City. The two groups are compared across five areas of social involvement: family, school, religion, peer group, and politics. The drug users are found to be less involved than the non-users in family, school, and religion, but more involved in cultural activities with peers and more in volved in politics. Studies conducted in other parts of the country have reported similar findings, indicating that a general pattern of differences between drug users and non-users is emerging.