Drug Use, Drug Trafficking, and Weapon Carrying Among Low-Income, African-American, Early Adolescent Boys

Objective. To examine relationships involving three extremely high-risk behaviors (drug use, drug trafficking, and weapon carrying) among low-income, urban, African-American early adolescent boys using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Method. The quantitative phase included 192 African-American boys from 9 through 15 years of age recruited from recreation centers located in low-income communities. Youth completed a survey addressing personal risk practices; intentions to engage in risk practices; risk taking among family, friends and community; and values toward risk practices. They also completed standardized assessments of sensation seeking, perceived peer pressure, and parent-child communication. All questionnaires were self-administered through MacIntosh computers programmed to present questions aurally and visually. The qualitative phase included 12 African-American youth from low-income, urban families. The youth participated in 60- to 90-minute interviews regarding drug activities and violence. Results. Most boys (73%) were not involved in either drug activities or weapon carrying. Boys who were involved in drug activities or weapon carrying were often involved in other high-risk activities (cigarette and alcohol use, school failure and expulsion) and had low rates of adaptive communication with their parents. The boys reported high rates of drug involvement by their family, friends, and community. However, psychological and interpersonal factors were better predictors of individual risk activities than community or family variables. Personal values regarding economics predicted drug trafficking. More than 56% of the boys who reported past involvement in drug activities did not anticipate future involvement. Conclusions. Multilevel strategies are necessary to prevent involvement in drug activities and weapon carrying. Intervention programs should begin early and should promote communication between parents and children, adaptive behavior in school, and avoidance of cigarette and alcohol use. Community-level interventions are needed to alter the myth that drug involvement and weapon carrying are normative and to promote images that are less materialistic and more supportive of education and future-oriented activities.