The Significance of Delinquency as a Risk Factor for Adolescent Drug Abuse

This study addresses the need to empirically test theories about the pathways to drug involvement pertinent to severe-end, clinic-referred youth. In this light, the validity of the conduct disorder hypothesis of adolescent drug abuse, primarily tested to date on normal youth samples, was examined in a drug clinic-referred sample (N = 2582). All subjects met DSM-III-R criteria for either abuse or dependence of at least one psychoactive substance. Based on selfreport data, it was hypothesized that a Delinquency factor would account for the most variance in drug use compared to three competing factors (Psychological Distress, Nonconventional Values, and Family Distress). Support for the hypothesis was obtained across sex, age and ethnic groups. The Delinquency factor uniquely accounted for about 50% 60% of the variance in drug use severity. Confirmatory prediction analysis of individual scales indicated that Peer Chemical Environment and Deviant Behavior (both part of the Delinquency factor) and, to a lesser degree, Psychological Disturbance (part of the Psychological Distress factor), were consistently the most predictive of drug use. The findings are seen as consistent with the viewpoint that delinquency behaviors are important mediators of adolescent drug abuse and, thus, they merit central attention in prevention programs.