Significance of self-reported drug or alcohol use among inner-city teenagers.

To explore problems associated with substance abuse, a sample of 101 inner-city teenagers (59 females and 42 males) completed measures of drug and alcohol involvement, resilience, negative peer relationships, and emotional and behavioral problems. Youths who reported any past use of drugs or alcohol (N=47) were significantly more likely than those who reported no past use of drugs or alcohol (N=54) to relate problems that resulted from their drug or alcohol involvement, more exposure to violence, more peer involvement with drugs and alcohol, less protective factors, and more emotional and behavioral problems. These findings underscore the interrelationship between self-reported drug or alcohol use and a variety of other problems among inner-city teenagers.