Patricia Ann Clubb, PhD and Dorothy C. Browne, DrPH. Drug Abuse Research Program, Morgan State University, 2201 Argonne Drive, Montebello D-103, Baltimore, MD 21251, 828-225-0471, PattyClubb@aol.com

The medical consequences of substance use include addiction, exposure to infectious diseases, health problems, and drug-induced death. Disparities exist regarding the consequences of drug abuse, including contracting HIV/AIDS through intravenous drug use and age-adjusted rate of drug-induced mortality. Recent research with adolescent and adult populations expand the consequences of substance use to include general quality of life, life satisfaction, unhappiness, mental health problems such as feeling nervous and anxious, and negative educational and career outcomes such as dropping out of high school and unemployment. The goal of the current study is to investigate the impact of the onset of marijuana use. Analyses are based on data provided by African-American adolescents who participated in a longitudinal study in the fall of 1994 and the spring of 1996. Comparisons were conducted between two groups, those youth who reported an onset of marijuana use (n = 144) during this interval and those who continued (n = 433) to abstain from this behavior. An onset of marijuana use was associated with a greater likelihood of recent injury related to violence (hurt in a fight, shot at, and/or cut or stabbed) in the spring of 1996 (OR = 5.41, 95% CI: 3.11, 9.41), even when controlling for gender, age, and injury status in the fall of 1994. Additional analyses will investigate the extent to which onset status predicts risky sexual behaviors, school performance, conflict in the mother-adolescent dyad, negative mood, and whether adolescents failed to receive needed health care in the past 6 months.

Learning Objectives:

• Upon completion of this presentation, the audience will be able to discuss the impact of drug use initiation on many aspects of the lives and environments of African-American adolescents.

Keywords: Drug Use, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.