ETHNICITY AND SEX SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN DRUG-RESISTANCE

Drug resistance skills form the core of most drug prevention programs. Recent work has begun to describe drug resistance processes among hig h school and college students. The current study attempts to extend th is work by examining a younger population and describing ethnic and se x similarities and differences. The primary goal was to establish the descriptive basis for future research by identifying how drugs are off ered and resisted, examining the social context of drug offers, and re porting on the roles of ethnicity and sex. Results of interviews with 158 middle school adolescents indicate that most offers they receive a re simple and explicit, with Slightly more than a quarter of these off ers followed by repeated pressure. Offers are resisted by enacting a r elatively restricted range of strategies, the primary resistance strat egy being a simple no. Drugs tend to be offered in public or in homes. When European American, African American, and Latino/a students are c ompared, Latinos/as are significantly more likely to experience a drug offer. In addition, Latinas, compared to females of other ethnicities , are more likely to be offered drugs. European Americans, and Europea n American moles in particular were more likely to have an acquaintanc e present in addition to the offerer There were no ethnicity or sex di fferences in the use of resistance strategies. The study highlights th e need for more research on drug prevention that is sensitive to ethni c and sex differences in drug offer experiences.