TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Gender and racial/ethnic differences in patterns of adolescent alcohol use and associations with adolescent and adult illicit drug use
JO  - American journal of drug and alcohol abuse encompassing all addictive disorders
A1  - Khan, Maria R.
A1  - Cleland, Charles M.
A1  - Scheidell, Joy D.
A1  - Berger, Amanda T.
SP  - 213
EP  - 224
VL  - 40
IS  - 3
N2  - OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to use latent class analyses (LCAs) to identify gender- and racial/ethnic-specific groups of adolescent alcohol users and associations between alcohol use group and adolescent and adulthood illicit drug use in a nationally-representative US sample. <br><br>METHODS: We used Wave I (1994-1995, adolescence) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to conduct LCAs by gender and race/ethnicity and measure associations between class membership and Wave I and Wave III (2001-2002, young adulthood) drug use. Participants included white (n = 9548), African American (n = 4005) and Hispanic (n = 3184) participants. LCAs were based on quantity and frequency of adolescent alcohol use; physiological and social consequences of use; and peer use. <br><br>RESULTS: Males and females were characterized by different alcohol use typologies and consequences. Males in the highest severity class (i.e. drank both heavily and frequently) experienced disproportionate risk of alcohol-related consequences compared with abstainers and other alcohol-using groups. Females who drank heavily when drinking even if only occasionally, experienced high risk of alcohol-related consequences. Substantial proportions of males reported diverse alcohol-related problems, whereas females most commonly reported alcohol-related problems with dating and sexual experiences. Though levels of alcohol use and report of problems associated with use were higher among white versus minority populations, other racial/ethnic differences in patterns of alcohol use were minimal. Classification in any drinking class was a strong risk factor for adolescent and adulthood illicit drug use, with heavy drinkers at greatest risk of drug use. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Gender-specific adolescent alcohol and substance use prevention programs are warranted.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0095-2990
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2014.892950
ID  - ref1
ER  -