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Youth involved in the juvenile justice system demonstrate greater risk of exposure to negative life experiences. The present study explores the prevalence of three stress-related experiences (sexual assault victimization, bullying/victimization, and minority sexual orientation) among newly arrested adolescents. Gender (biological sex) differences were examined as well as associations with sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, substance use, and sexually transmitted infection (STI). Factor analyses found a single factor of stress for both genders. Prevalence rates for bullying/victimization, sexual assault victimization, and sexual minority status were higher for girls than boys. Girls were also more likely than boys to test positive for STIs and experience depressive symptoms, while boys were more likely than girls to test positive for marijuana use. Depression and drug-related problems were associated with the stress construct for girls only. Bivariate comparisons with the three stress measures and sociodemographic characteristics indicated age and race effects. Implications are discussed.

De novo events appear more common in female and simplex autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases and may underlie greater ASD risk in older fathers’ offspring. This study examined whether advancing paternal age predicts an increase in simplex ( n = 90) versus multiplex ASD cases ( n = 587) in 677 participants (340 families). Whether or not controlling for maternal age, results support a significant interaction of linear paternal age and sex of the child on simplex family type. Female ASD cases were significantly more likely to be simplex as paternal age increased, but the increase for males was not significant. Findings suggest that ASD arising from non-familial, de novo events may be far less prominent in males than in females, even if more prevalent in males, due to the substantially larger number of male cases attributable to other, more strongly male-biased risk factors.

Baseline data collected in two brief intervention projects (BI-Court and Truancy Project) were used to assess similarities and differences in subgroups of at-risk youth. Classifications of these subgroups were based on their psychosocial characteristics (e.g., substance use). Multi-group latent class analysis (LCA) identified two BI-Court subgroups of youth, and three Truant subgroups. These classes can be viewed as differing along two dimensions, substance use involvement and emotional/behavioral issues. Equality tests of means across the latent classes for BI-Court and Truancy Project youths found significant differences that were consistent with their problem group classification. These findings highlight the importance of quality assessments and allocating appropriate services based on problem profiles of at-risk youth.

The authors report the results of latent class analyses and latent class transition analyses of antisocial behavior risk factors among 137 youths participating in a juvenile diversion program. The study examined the youths' latent classifications using baseline and 1-year follow-up measures of family, peer, education, and mental health risk factors. Latent class transition analyses were conducted to determine the stability and change of latent class membership across two time points. For both baseline and follow-up measures, latent class analyses suggested that two latent classes were most appropriate for characterizing the youths using the four domains of risk factors. One class reflected youths reporting few problems in any risk area; the second class reflected youths reporting problems in many of the risk domains. The latent class transition analyses indicated that about two thirds of the youths experienced similar problems over time. The results emphasize the heterogeneity of this study's sample. Policy implications and intervention service needs are discussed.

The authors report the results of developing and evaluating a classification of 315 arrested youths processed at the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center in Tampa, Florida. Cluster analysis of summary measures of nine baseline alcohol/other drug use and self-reported delinquency variables identified four groups of youths: (a) low-level delinquents and drug users, (b) high-level delinquents, (c) hair-test-identified marijuana and cocaine users, and (d) self-reported drug users. The validity of the typology was assessed by comparing the clusters of youths on their(a) educational experiences; (b) delinquency referral history; (c) neglect, abuse, and family problem history; (d) close friends’ problem behavior; and, of particular interest, given the focus of the analyses, (e) emotional/psychological functioning and mental health and substance abuse treatment history. The findings indicate the youths were experiencing overlapping delinquency, alcohol/other drug use, and emotional/psychological problems. The cooccurrence of these problems among youths entering the juvenile justice system extends findings of their co-occurrence reported in studies of incarcerated youths.

Cluster analysis is applied to substance use and delinquency data collected in a longitudinal study of juvenile detainees to empirically derive five groups of youths from information gathered at their initial interviews (time 1): alcohol/marijuana-hashish users, low-level delinquents, alcohol/ marijuana-hashish and cocaine-using nondelinquents, high delinquency, cocaine users, and heavy cocaine-using nondelinquents. The validity of the typology was supported by a variety of other initial interview and follow-up interview alcohol/other drug use and delinquency data, and by recidivism information — including data on arrests during the three-and-a-half years following the date of the youths' first interviews. Research and policy implications of the findings are drawn.

Drawing on previous research completed on young adults in the general population, the authors report the results of a test of a structural equation model separating general and specific deviance components of deviant behavior on data collected in a longitudinal study of a cohort of juvenile detainees. Consistent with earlier work, the authors' findings indicate that each deviant behavior is, in part, a manifestation of a general tendency toward deviance and, in part, a unique phenomenon among the high-risk youths they studied. In addition, analysis suggests that the youths' self-report measures of deviance reflect a tendency toward self-disclosure, which accounts for part of the covariance among these measures.

This paper reports annual rates of delinquency and drug use while controlling for the type of offenders/drug users. Secondary analysis was conducted from the National Youth Survey, when the subjects were ages 14–20. Youths were classified into drug user and delinquent typologies representing more serious involvements. Annual rates of delinquent offending increased directly with more serious drug involvements, even when controlling for delinquent type. Less than 2% of all youths self-reported two or more index offenses and used cocaine/heroin. These youths had such high delinquency rates that they accounted for 40–60% of various felony crimes (robbery, felony theft, drug sales) and a disproportionate share of all marijuana and other drugs used. Yet less than a quarter reported that their recent non-drug crimes were primarily motivated to obtain money for drugs. Even in a national probability sample, delinquency is highly concentrated among a very small proportion of substance-using delinquents.

Study of the relationship between drug use and crime over time remains an important topic in the field. Data from a longitudinal study of detained juveniles are examined to address this issue. Results indicate that self-reported delinquent behavior and alcohol use prior to initial interview are key predictors of reported delinquent behavior during the 10- to 15-month follow-up period. However, self-reported drug use and urinalysis test results (measured at initial interview), and prior delinquent behavior are significant predictors of the use of marijuana/hashish and cocaine over time. The research and policy implications of these findings are drawn.

Repartions des poids pour les échantillons au hasard éthnographiques. Dans l'échantillonnage au hasard, le sociologue n'exerce aucune influence sur le choix de répondants. Au contraire, l'éthnographe choisit des répondants par rapport à leur valeur d'informateur. Cette étude présente "l'échantillonnage éthnographique au hasard" où un échantillon est choisi comme en ethnographie mais avec une sélection au hasard dans des strates semblables de répondants potentiels. Cette synthèse garde la capacité d'adaptation de l'ethnographie en apportant la généralisibilité de l'échantillonnage au hasard. Le cadre d'échantillonnage ("sampling frame") comprend tous les répondants potentiels, mais à l'envers des enquêtes habituelles, le cadre peut être déterminé à la fin de l'étude. L'échantillonnage au hasard permet l'utilisation des techniques de repartions de poids pour déterminer les caractéristiques du cadre. Cependant, la généralisation au-delà du cadre d'échantillonnage est problématique pour les populations mal caractérisées. Un exemple de deux repartions des poids est fait avec un échantillon par chaîne de références ("snowball sample"). Le poids, égale à l'inverse de la probabilité de sélection, peut être interprété comme la présentation de chaque répondant comme représentant d autres qui auraient pu être choisis dans le cadre spécifié. Inversement, la repartions poststratifiée des poids peut décrire le lien de chaque repondant avec les autres choisis.

This article addresses the concept of pursuing more focussed and innovative drug abuse prevention efforts in urban settings. Concentrating in inner city junior high school youths, our study found an interactive relationship between perceived neighborhood setting and various supports for, and consequences of, their drug involvement. The results imply that the processes by which youths become involved with drugs should be the focus of future research to enhance and improve drug abuse prevention programs. Finally, we recommend such research be utilized: 1) to identify and reduce youths' drug abuse vulnerability; and 2) to reestablish or create socio-cultural norms which reinforce limited and controlled drug use.

This is a study of the relationship between youths' attitudes toward their family, other aspects of their lives and their drug use. The study is based on the responses of a representative sample of 8,553 public school students in New York State. Students in the seventh through twelfth grades were surveyed in the Winter of 1974/75. A concise index of family affinity (closeness) was developed. Family affinity was found to be positively related to students' interest in school and who they would go to for help with a drug problem. Family closeness was negatively related to willing to take risks, friends' use of drugs, and students' own drug use. Family closeness was not related to family composition or socio-economic level.

Reflecting the need to construct more inclusive, socially and culturally relevant conceptions of drug use than currently exist, this paper investigates the determinants of drug involvement among inner-city youths within the context of a causal model. The drug involvement of the Black and Puerto Rican junior high school girls and boys studied is hypothesized to result from their home composition, felt relationships with parents, attitudes toward school, machismo values, and identification with drug involved peers. The results show few socialization into drug-use differences to exist between the Puerto Rican and Black youths surveyed. However, the girls' drug use is somewhat better explained by the intrapersonal and interpersonal socialization variables in the model than that of the boys. At the same time, the socialization variables examined have limited predictive power in regard to the drug involvement of the four groups (R2s from .177 to .220). Peer-oriented attitudes and behavior that more closely reflect the environmental embeddedness of the youths' drug-taking would probably provide a more fruitful set of socialization into drug use factors, than those represented in the model we tested.

The present paper reviews the various sets of variables that have been found to relate to youths' drug use. It considers various experiences, deriving from our accumulated knowledge, which need to be incorporated into research into the etiology of drug use, and discusses methodological strategies and models of analysis which show promise of improving the state of the art in this field. Documentation is provided concerning the usefulness of screening subsets of cases on relevant risk variables prior to data analysis.

Students in a New York City inner city junior high school were surveyed in 1976. They were asked their attitudes toward their neighborhood, the type of people youngsters their age esteem, and in which leisure-time activities they participate. A strong relationship was found to exist between these factors and the degree the youths were involved in substance (drug and alcohol) use. The youths' substance use reflects the manner in which they relate to their environment, rather than a sense of alienation. The findings imply that substance abuse prevention programs will be enhanced by a focus on life-style commitment, rather than such things as drug use per se.

In a recent paper, Cooper presented a nonparametric test for increasing (or decreasing) trend. This test is based upon comparisons of the order of all possible pairs of observations. Cooper assumes that the order of each pair is independent of the order of each other pair. Whenever two pairs have an observation in common, such an assumption is not valid. This changes the distribution of the statistic, which is equivalent to Kendall's tau. It also reduces its usefulness for small samples.