Racial/ethnic differences in use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana: is there a cross-over from adolescence to adulthood?

ABSTRACT: Black adolescents in the US are less likely to use alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco compared with non-Hispanic Whites, but little is known about the consistency of these racial/ethnic differences in substance use across the lifecourse. Understanding lifecourse patterning of substance use is critical to inform prevention and intervention efforts. Data were drawn from four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; Wave 1 (mean age = 16): N = 14,101; Wave 4 (mean age = 29): N = 11,365). Outcomes included alcohol (including at-risk drinking, defined as 5+/4+ drinks per drinking occasion or 14+/7+ drinks per week on average for men and women, respectively), cigarette, and marijuana use in 30-day/past-year. Random effects models stratified by gender tested differe

SUBMITTER: Keyes KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4391514 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature