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DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

The questionnaire for this project was adapted from an instrument designed by TCADA for adult inmates. TYC youth were asked questions about substance use, family background, delinquency and other behaviors prior to entering TYC; information about substance use while in TYC facilities was not collected.

This project was conducted as part of a multi-year program to gather detailed information about substance use patterns and trends among Texans. Other related studies include Substance Use Among Students in Texas Secondary Schools, 1988; 1988 Texas Survey of Substance Use Among Adults; and Substance Use Among Texas Department of Corrections Inmates, 1988. ¹ Where appropriate, information from these sources is used to highlight and clarify TYC data.

Terms
Prevalence is defined as the percent of a population that has used a given substance within a given period of time. Current prevalence refers to those that have used within the past month and measures active substance use. Past year prevalence includes those who have used within the past year but not the past month, and indicates more casual substance involvement. Lifetime prevalence includes those who have ever used a substance.

Younger youth refers to TYC youth who entered detention while 13 years of age or younger, middle youth are 14 or 15 years of age, and older youth are 16 or 17 years of age.

Youth who report three or more alcohol or drug problems are said to have significant alcohol or significant illicit drug problems. Youth who report five or more alcohol or drug problems are said to have severe alcohol or severe illicit drug problems.

Infrequent drug sellers are those TYC youth who reported selling drugs one to four times; occasional drug sellers are those TYC youth who have sold drugs between five and 19 times; repeated drug sellers have sold drugs between 20 and 100 times; and habitual drug sellers have sold drugs more than 100 times.

The Sample
A total of 946 youth, age 10 to 17, were interviewed as they entered TYC. Appendix A shows the prevalence and recency of substance use of the sample by age.

• 81 percent of TYC youth have used illicit substances, 51 percent in their last month on the street. Substance use is pronounced even among those aged 13 and younger (Figure 1)

 



 

• 91 percent of TYC youth have drunk alcohol, and 86 percent have used tobacco; 53 percent drank alcohol and 54 percent used tobacco in their last month on the street.
• 39 percent of TYC youth have used inhalants, 13 percent in their last month on the street.
• Age has little affect on patterns of current use: younger (age 13 and younger) and older (age 16 or 17) respondents were about equally likely to report current use of tobacco (53 percent vs. 57 percent), marijuana (42 percent vs. 45 percent), powdered cocaine (19 percent vs. 18 percent), crack cocaine (13 percent vs. 12 percent) and several other substances. However, younger youth are more likely than older youth to report current use of inhalants (20 percent vs. 9 percent).
• Whites and Hispanics have much higher lifetime and current prevalence of substance use than Blacks: 89 percent of Whites, 92 percent of Hispanics, and 68 percent of Blacks have used one or more illicit drugs (Figure 2); 65 percent of Whites, 54 percent of Hispanics, and 39 percent of Blacks used an illicit drug in their last month on the street.



 

• Many TYC youth are daily substance users (i.e., they use on 20 or more days in a single month): 28 percent drink alcohol or use one or more illicit drugs daily. 35 percent used some combination of substances 20 or more times in their last month on the street.

• TYC youth are much more likely than in-school youth to be current users of most substances, and are more likely to have tried a wider variety of substances: TYC youth are more than three times as likely to be current tobacco smokers, three times more likely to have used an illicit drug in the past 30 days, and 16 times more likely to be current users of crack cocaine (Figure 3).²


• TYC youth aged 13 or younger appear to be particularly at risk for development of severe problems, given their high prevalence of usage compared to their age cohorts in the general school population.
• Although TYC youth are almost as likely as TDC inmates to have tried one or more illicit drugs (81 percent compared to 87 percent), adult inmates report higher lifetime prevalence on all substances except inhalants, where TYC lifetime prevalence is higher, and crack cocaine, where lifetime prevalence is about equal (Figure 4).³

 



 

• Current illicit drug use is slightly higher among TYC youth than adult inmates: 51 percent of TYC youth and 47 percent of TDC inmates reported current use of at least one illicit drug in their last month on the street (Figure 5). TYC youth are more likely than TDC inmates to be current users of marijuana, inhalants and psychedelics, but less likely to be current users of tobacco and alcohol.

Substance-Related Problems
The severity and range of problems caused by substance use are influenced by several factors: the characteristics of the substance (such as chemical composition, legal status, cost), the characteristics of the users and their environment (such as age, health, social and economic status), and the way the substance is used (dose, duration of use, context of use, how it is taken). Since many TYC youth use substances frequently, it is likely that some have experienced substance use problems which have had an impact on their physical and mental health, significant social relationships, legal involvements, and educational attainment.

• One-third of TYC youth have "severe problems with alcohol;" that is, they reported five or more alcohol problems in the past year. About 40 percent of TYC youth had "significant problems with alcohol;" that is, they reported three or more alcohol problems in the past year. Both levels of problem severity increase with age.
• 38 percent of TYC youth had "severe problems with illicit drugs" in their last year on the street, and about one-half had "significant problems with illicit drugs."
• White youth are much more likely than Hispanics to have significant or severe alcohol or illicit drug problems, and Hispanics are more likely than Blacks to have significant or severe alcohol or illicit drug problems.
• Of the 17 drug problems queried, 10 were experienced by more than one-quarter of TYC youth.
• The same individuals tend to have both alcohol and illicit drug problems. About 60 percent of TYC youth have significant alcohol and/or drug problems (Figure 6); 29 percent have both significant alcohol and drug problems, 20 percent have significant drug problems only, and 11 percent significant alcohol problems only.

• About 49 percent of TYC youth have severe alcohol and/or drug problems (Figure 7).

• Some TYC youth are at risk of contracting HIV infection through injection paraphernalia: 14 percent have injected cocaine, amphetamines, heroin or other opiates, 5 percent within their last month on the street.
• 5 percent of TYC youth have shared needles at some time in their life, 1 percent in their last month on the street.
• Older youth are most likely to have injected drugs and shared needles.
• Among TYC youth, the most prevalent drug of injection is cocaine, followed by heroin and "uppers" (amphetamines).
• Only 2 percent of Black youth have ever injected, compared to 28 percent of Whites and 19 percent of Hispanics.
• White and Hispanic TYC youth are almost equally likely to have injected cocaine and heroin, while amphetamine injectors are almost exclusively White (Figure 8). This same pattern exists among adult TDC inmates, although TYC youth inject at lower rates.

• Some level of awareness about AIDS is virtually universal among TYC youth: 99 percent said they had heard publicity about AIDS, and 98 percent believe that AIDS is epidemic.
• A majority of TYC youth (73 percent) are concerned about the possibility of contracting AIDS. However, of those who have taken drugs by injection, only 67 percent say they are personally concerned with the possibility of AIDS.
• When asked factual questions about HIV infection, TYC youth were most likely to know that AIDS is transmitted though needle-sharing and least likely to know that infected individuals often appear to be healthy.

• Only one-quarter of TYC youth were raised primarily by both parents, whereas one-half were raised by their mothers. Two-parent families were most common among Hispanic youth and least common among Blacks.
• Many TYC youth come from families with a history of alcohol and/or drug abuse: close to 40 percent believe that an adult role model has a "problem" with alcohol or drugs. Most likely to report this problem were Whites (56 percent); least likely to report this problem were Blacks (30 percent) (Figure 9).

• One-third of TYC youth have parents or siblings that have been convicted of a felony. Among those 13 years and younger, this figure is 42 percent.
• Only one-third of TYC youth could estimate their family income. Of those, the majority estimated their family income at $20,000 or less.
• One-quarter of TYC youth said their primary caretakeršs occupation was skilled labor, one-fifth said unskilled labor, 5 percent welfare, and 6 percent social security or disability.

• One-half of TYC youth were not attending school in the three months prior to entering TYC; of those, 18 percent had been suspended or expelled, 14 percent had dropped out, and 5 percent were under some other form of detention.
• 79 percent of TYC youth said it was very important to have high grades in school, whereas only 21 percent thought that they were doing very well in school; 49 percent said it is very important to have others think of them as a good student, whereas only 31 percent said others thought of them as good students; 64 percent said it was very important to have their teachers think of them as a good student, whereas only 31 percent said their teachers thought of them as good students.

• 45 percent of TYC youth say most of their friends smoke marijuana, 16 percent say most have used cocaine, and 11 percent say most have smoked crack.
• Close to one-half say most of their friends have carried hidden weapons, one-third say most of their friends sell drugs, about one-fifth say most have committed robbery, and about the same proportion say most have committed burglary.
• About one-half say most of their friends have been picked up by the police, 73 percent say most or some of their friends have shoplifted, and 71 percent say most or some have been in a gang fight.

• 33 percent of TYC youth often or sometimes think of themselves as "no good," and 43 percent believe that others think of them as "no good."
• TYC youth were asked a series of questions to probe their perceptions of "rightness" and "wrongness": in general, few TYC youth feel that it is right to engage in such illegal or dishonest activities as cheating, damaging property, stealing, hitting someone without cause, and selling hard drugs (Figure 10).

  

• TYC youth were optimistic about their prospects for staying out of trouble with the law after leaving TYC: 62 percent rated their chances as "excellent," 24 percent as "good."

• 30 percent of TYC youth are members of named gangs.
• 34 percent of TYC youth belong to a circle of friends who "sometimes think of themselves as a gang."
• Gang members get together often: 64 percent of gang members get together every day, and an additional 26 percent do so more than once a week.
• 90 percent of gang members said their gangs were primarily composed of individuals 15 years of age or older.
• Only about one-quarter of gang members said that their gangs have racial/ethnic requirements for membership.
• 96 percent of gang members said their gang provides protection for members.
• 79 percent of gang members said their gangs steal, rob and/or distribute drugs; 54 percent said that their gangs helped older people sell or distribute drugs.
• Youth gang members were also asked to identify what activities their gang spent most time doing; verbatim answers were recorded by interviewers.⁵ More than one-half of gang members volunteered that their gang spent most of the time "hanging out" (24 percent), "selling or delivering drugs" (19 percent), or "getting high or stoned" (15 percent).

• White and Hispanic youth are significantly more likely than Black youth to report current use, daily use, alcohol and/or drug problems, and needle use and needle-sharing.
• 44 percent of Blacks compared to about 60 percent of Whites or Hispanics drank alcohol in their last month on the street (Figure 11). Past month illicit drug use for Blacks, Whites and Hispanics was 39 percent, 65 percent and 54 percent, respectively. Almost all current users of inhalants or psychedelics are White or Hispanic.

 

• Only 2 percent of Blacks, compared to 28 percent of Whites and 19 percent of Hispanics, have ever injected drugs.
• Only 38 percent of Blacks compared to 79 percent of Whites and 67 percent of Hispanics say most of their friends smoke cigarettes; 36 percent of Blacks compared to 50 percent of Whites and 54 percent of Hispanics say most of their friends smoke marijuana (Figure 12).

  

• A possible explanation for such striking differences in racial/ethnic reporting patterns is that Black youth may be more reluctant to discuss substance use than Whites or Hispanics. However, Black youth appear to respond freely to questions on delinquency among peers and report a high prevalence of dealing and selling drugs (Figure 13).

  

• Black youth are much more likely than Whites or Hispanics to say most of their friends sell and/or deliver drugs. Thus, Blacks are willing to talk about drugs, but are more likely to be involved as drug sellers rather than drug users.
• When asked a free-response question about their gangšs most frequent activity, Black gang members were two to three times more likely than White or Hispanic gang members to volunteer that their gangs spent most of their time selling or delivering drugs (Figure 14). In contrast, White or Hispanic gang members were two to three times more likely than Black members to volunteer that their gangs spent most of their time getting high or stoned.

  

• 62 percent of Blacks compared to 53 percent of Whites and 42 percent of Hispanics sell drugs. 41 percent of Black youth are "habitual drug sellers" (have sold drugs more than 100 times): corresponding figures for Whites (21 percent) and Hispanics (15 percent) are much lower (Figure 15). Not only are Black youth more likely to sell drugs, but they also do so more often than Whites or Hispanics.

  

• Only 11 percent of Black youth have ever sold drugs to get money to buy drugs, which represents about one out of six young Black drug sellers (Figure 16). In contrast, 27 percent of White youth sold drugs to get money to buy drugs, which is about one-half of White drug sellers. Like Whites, about one-half of Hispanic drug sellers also sell drugs for the purpose of getting money for drugs.

  

• When asked, a majority of Black youth (66 percent) said they committed crime before they began using drugs (Figure 17). Whites, on the other hand, were about equally likely to report that "drugs came first" (46 percent) as "crime came first" (44 percent). Hispanics are somewhat more likely to report that they used drugs first (53 percent vs. 41 percent on "crime first").

  

• While there are clear and consistent racial/ethnic differences in reporting of drug use and drug sales, one must remember that this is a difference of degree. A substantial number of Black youth have severe alcohol problems (24 percent), severe illicit drug problems (18 percent), and/or use substances daily (23 percent). Similarly, a substantial proportion of White (53 percent) and Hispanic (42 percent) youth have sold drugs. Nevertheless, the observed reporting pattern does suggest that not all drug dealers have chemical dependency problems.
• These results may have implications for development of drug use prevention programs. Youth who sell drugs obviously have ready access to such substances. Yet, these results suggest that some young drug dealers do not use. This phenomenon requires further investigation to ascertain prevention factors which retard drug use within high-risk environments.

² The demographic composition of youth entering TYC is different than that of in-school youth. A much higher percentage of TYC youth are male, relatively few are less than 13 years of age, and none are 18 years of age or older. Therefore, estimates of prevalence of substance use among in-school youth were adjusted to reflect the age and gender composition of the TYC sample.

³ This adult inmate sample consists of 1,027 adult males who entered TDC in late 1988. An instrument very similar to that used in this project was used to gather information about substance use and criminal behavior in this group.

⁴ H. Haverkos, "Overview: HIV Infection Among Intravenous Drug Abusers in the United States and Europe," NIDA Research Monograph 80.

⁵ Most often, survey questions are structured such that respondents must choose from a list of potential answers. In free-response questions, respondents may give any answer they choose. Responses are field coded; new categories of response are constructed as needed to reflect the variety of responses volunteered by interviewees. This method of data collection is particularly useful when asking about areas of human experience about which relatively little is known.