Adolescent use of illicit drugs other than marijuana: How important is social bonding and for which ethnic groups?

We predicted Grade 12 use of illicit drugs other than marijuana ("hard" dru gs) from characteristics at Grade 10, examining the protective value of soc ial bonds and testing whether certain social bonds have greater importance for some racial/ethnic groups. We also explored the association of previous substance use with later "hard" drug use when social bonds and a broad ran ge of other personal and environmental variables are statistically controll ed. Bonds with family were inversely related to any use of illicit drugs ot her than marijuana; various forms of prior use were positively related to b oth any and frequent use. However, variables other than social bonds and pr ior use were equal or stronger predictors of both outcomes. Some difference s were obtained across racial groups: African-Americans were less likely to use illicit drugs other than marijuana, Mexican-Americans were more affect ed by family factors than were other groups, and Asian-Americans were more affected by school failure. Implications for prevention are discussed.