Correlates of Cocaine Use among Adolescents

Abstract

In 1985, 2,926 seventh, ninth, and eleventh graders from the Ventura County School District were surveyed to determine the extent of their drug use and the psychosocial correlates of such use. The sample was divided into roughly equal numbers of girls and boys. Differential patterns associated with cocaine use were examined separately for each gender by grade grouping for eight domains of variables. These domains were selected on the basis of theory and previous research and include life satisfaction, emotional distress, perceived adult drug use, peer tolerance of drug use, parental approval of drug use, academic orientation, social conformity, and other drug use. In general, cocaine use was significantly correlated with several affective, attitudinal, and behavioral variables. However, only other drug use was significantly and uniquely associated with cocaine use when all the other variables were controlled. Thus, for this group of teenagers, there was no discernable integrated lifestyle specific to cocaine; cocaine use was integrated into a lifestyle of general drug use or poly-drug use.