Role of ethnicity and gender in polydrug use among a longitudinal sample of inner-city adolescents

The purpose of this study was to determine if ethnic and gender differences in polydrug use exist among a cohort of inner-city adolescents during the three-year middle school period. Students in 22 urban schools completed sel f-report questionnaires with measures of drug use (smoking, drinking, and m arijuana use) at three annual assessments. For participating students, (N=2 354), analyses of variance were conducted to test for ethnic group (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White) and gender differences in polydrug use. Ethnic diff erences were found for polydrug use measures at each assessments point. Asi an and Black adolescents generally reported less polydrug use than White an d Hispanic youth. When gender differences were evident, boys engaged in mor e use than girls. The relatively high rates of polydrug use indicate that p revention intervention programs that target multiple substances may be more efficient in reducing overall risk than prevention programs that focus on a single substance (e.g., smoking prevention only).