VULNERABILITY TO NARCOTIC ADDICTION - PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

This is a report of fieldwork methodology and preliminary findings fro m a controlled retrospective study of vulnerability to narcotic addict ion comparing three groups of males closely matched by neighborhood, a ge, and race: a community-wide sample of narcotic addicts; a nonaddict ed control sample of age-eleven peer associates of the addicts; and a nonaddicted community control sample of age-eleven peers who did not a ssociate with the addicts. Fieldwork experience and preliminary findin gs suggest a strong selective association between friendship and devia nce among narcotic addicts and their age-eleven associates - a relatio nship that is much less common in the two control groups, particularly community controls. Association with older deviants was also more cha racteristic of addicts than for the peer or community controls. Experi ence in the study also attests to the feasibility and merit of capturi ng historical data via retrospective, reconstructive sampling methods.