Drug Use by Urban and Rural Adolescents

Abstract

This study investigated drug use behaviors of students in both rural and urban communities of Georgia. Data from 1,897 response forms to ninety survey items served as the basis for the findings reported in this study. The socio-economic characteristics of the sample, both rural and urban, corresponded to the characteristics identified by the United States Census Report of 1970, e.g., family income, education and occupation. Experimental use of beer/wine and other alcoholic beverages was high (approximately two-thirds) for both rural and urban samples; while approximately one-third reported that they used marijuana. In both the urban and rural communities, males exceed females in drug use on a weekly and daily basis in all types of drugs. Drug use in the urban and rural communities of Georgia is quite similar, and this usage closely relates to the national reported usage for comparable age groups. There seems to be a difference between an individual's drug use behavior and his or her perception of his/her friends' drug use behaviors.