Research on drug use has sought to understand the individual, social, and environmental influences on drug use initiation, continuation, and abuse and dependence. Although researchers have identified many predictors of drug use initiation, less has been learned about the antecedents of drug abuse and dependence. The overall goal of the proposed study is to examine individual, social, and contextual factors in childhood and adolescence that distinguish adults with substance abuse problems from those without such problems. More specifically, the study will use data from a 25-year epidemiological, longitudinal study of a cohort (n= 1240) from Woodlawn, an African American community in Chicago. The cohort was assessed in first grade (age 6), in adolescence (ages 15-17), and in adulthood (ages 32-33), with 84 percent of the original cohort included in the adult phase. The study will examine the impact of first grade aggressive behavior, adolescent social bonds and drug use, and neighborhood on drug abuse and dependence in adulthood. The data includes self reports, teacher and psychologist ratings, and mothers? reports; census data will be used to examine neighborhood effects. The use of hierarchical regression analyses and multi-level analyses will allow for examination of both the direct and indirect effects of these factors on adult drug abuse and dependence.
