While many adolescents and young adults experiment with substances (e.g., alcohol, cigarette smoking, marijuana), recent research suggests that rural youth and young adults may be more at risk for substance use than their urban counterparts. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationships between rural adolescents' prosocial…

The purpose of this study was to examine individual, family, peer, and community risk and protective factors associated with past-30-days alcohol and marijuana use among African-American adolescents living in rural and urban communities. This study used data collected from 907 tenth- and twelfth-grade African-American students who completed the…

Prior research has shown relations between peer victimization, aggression, and adolescent substance use. However, there is a need for further research in this area, especially among rural populations, as rural youth have high rates of substance use but less access to mental health resources in their communities. The present study examined…

Examined drug and alcohol use and social background to determine their relationship to adolescent suicide attempts. Survey of 2,690 adolescents revealed that young women, farm residents, and in general, drug users were more likely to report suicide attempt. Women who were frequent alcohol users and heavy users of marijuana were more prone to…

Student responses concerning personal and peer use of marijuana were collected from 181 middle school students in rural Northern Michigan. Results suggest that personal marijuana use is highly correlated with peer consumption. Use of marijuana increases significantly with age and is higher than national averages in certain age groups. (Author/ABB)

Among 3,907 seventh-twelfth grade students in rural Illinois, ages at first use for alcohol, tobacco, and drugs were lower than national averages. Specific drug and alcohol education programs should be implemented before age of first use for 10 percent of students. Contains 20 references and 3 data tables. (SV)