The results of an exploratory study of the reasons and motivations young adolescents from different social backgrounds become involved with drugs are presented. The results are based on interviews with ninety-five eighth-grade students, roughly equally divided between white, middle-class students and black, low-income students. The analysis identifies three themes upon which students from these different backgrounds may be differentiated with respect to their decision-making processes about illegal drug use: different motivations; different experiences and feelings about various institutions in our society; and different attitudes regarding the efficacy of social norms. The implications of these findings for future drug prevention program efforts are discussed.
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