Sequential Patterns of Multiple-Drug Use Among High School Students
Archives of General Psychiatry – February 01, 1977
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A compelling finding reveals that multiple-drug use among adolescents is a progressive phenomenon. An analysis of 1,094 high school students from greater New Haven in the 1972-1973 academic year identified a clear pattern involving nine substances: alcohol, marijuana, hashish, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, mescaline, cocaine, and heroin. Notably, cigarettes and glue did not fit into this progression. While the order of drug use initiation partially aligned with scalogram analysis results, it underscores the complex nature of substance abuse patterns in youth psychology and clinical treatment contexts.
Abstract
Only recently have multiple-drug use studies involving more than heroin and marijuana begun to be reported in the literature. Four of these studies have found evidence that multiple-drug use is a progressive phenomenon, although the particular pattern of multiple-drug use reported in different populations varies somewhat. This study examines the patterns of multiple-drug use reported by a random sample of 1,094 high school students living in greater New Haven, Conn in the 1972-1973 academic school year. Scalogram analysis reveals a progressive relationship for nine drugs: alcohol, marijuana, hashish, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, mescaline, cocaine, and heroin. Cigarettes and glue were not found to play a part in this pattern. The temporal order in which respondents reported that they had begun using each drug supports the results of scalogram analysis only in part.