The Rochester Youth Development Study is a longitudinal examination of the causes and correlates of drug use and delinquency. Phase I of the study followed a sample of high-risk youth from the seventh and eighth grades until their eleventh and twelfth grades. The current proposal is requesting funds for Phase II of the study in which subjects will be followed to early adulthood. The objectives of the study are to understand the social and psychological factors associated with different stages of drug use, especially the continuation and escalation of use for many subjects that occurs at these ages and the termination of use for others. The transition from adolescence to early adulthood is a critical developmental period as individuals complete high school, move out of the parent's home, move in with new family units, acquire a full-time job, and so forth. The study will examine how changes in these different life circumstances relate to drug use and delinquency. It will also examine the consequences of adolescent drug use on the successfulness of the transition to these adult roles. In addition, given the long-term nature of this panel study, these factors can be placed in a more general developmental sequence. The sample is drawn from adolescents who were attending the Rochester City School System in 1987. By oversampling high crime areas, a sample of youth who are at high risk for problem drug use and serious delinquency was acquired. The sample is comprised of 69% African-American youth, 17% Hispanic (predominantly of Puerto Rican ancestry), and 14% white. Nine waves of data on these subjects were collected by the end of Phase I. The interviews with the adolescents and parents are comprehensive, covering a wide range of social and psychological factors as well as self-reported drug use, problem drug use, and delinquency. In Phase II, respondents and their primary caretaker will be interviewed at annual intervals, and official data will be collected from social service, police, court, and correctional agencies. All this information can be linked to the extensive developmental data collected about these subjects and their families during their adolescent years. The results of the study will provide one of the most extensive and comprehensive data sets assembled to investigate drug use and delinquent behavior.
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