PERSISTENCE OF DRUG TRAFFICKING BEHAVIORS AND INTENTIONS AMONG URBAN AFRICAN-AMERICAN EARLY ADOLESCENTS

Longitudinal data obtained 6 months apart from 132 urban African Ameri can adolescents, 9 through 15 years of age, were analyzed to assess th e stability and predictability of behaviors, intentions, and perceptio ns regarding drug trafficking. Drug trafficking behaviors, intentions, and perceptions were relatively stable over time. Although rates of d rug trafficking were low(7%), about two-thirds of the youth involved a t baseline were still involved 6 months later Males were more likely t o be involved than females. Previous involvement was the best predicto r for subsequent behavior and intention Baseline intention was not pre dictive of subsequent behavior but war predictive of subsequent intent ion. Perceptions, particularly those regarding extrinsic rewards and r esponse costs of drug trafficking, were predictive of subsequent behav ior and intention. The youth appeared to differentiate between drug se lling and drug delivering. These results represent the first longitudi nal description of the natural history of involvement in drug traffick ing from a community-based cohort.