Fz. Belgrave et al., THE INFLUENCE OF AN AFRICENTRIC WORLDVIEW AND DEMOGRAPHIC-VARIABLES ON DRUG KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND USE AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH, Journal of community psychology, 25(5), 1997, pp. 421-433
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are major problems in the inner c
ities, especially for African American youth. Africentric values may b
e a protective factor for negative drug outcomes. The purpose of this
study was to examine the influence of Africentric values, spirituality
, and demographic variables on drug knowledge, attitudes, and use. Par
ticipants were 189 4th- and 5th-graders attending public schools in Wa
shington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland. Measures of Africentric values
(i.e., Collective Work/Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, and Self
-Determination), spirituality, age, and whether or not the child resid
ed in a two-or one-parent household were obtained. The results of regr
ession analyses indicated that Collective Work/Responsibility and Coop
erative Economics were significant predictors of attitudes toward drug
s. Collective Work/Responsibility and spirituality were significant pr
edictors of perceived drug harmfulness. Age and spirituality were sign
ificant predictors of drug usage. Age was the only significant predict
or of drug knowledge. The Collective Work/Responsibility subscale was
the strongest predictor of drug outcomes. The implications for using A
fricentric prevention approaches for decreasing risk factors and incre
asing protective factors for drug use among African American youth are
discussed. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.