The risk factors of alcohol and illegal substance abuse involving middle school African American students in rural setting: implication for counseling, 1998

It is imperative to acknowledge the crisis state of African American adolescents as they transit into young adulthood. Professional literature has documented the usage of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs during the transitional period. Chemical substance misusage among some adolescents resulting in critical incidents continues to gain increased interest for the counseling profession and others. Special emphasis is placed on drug prevention education program in schools. A selected group of adolescents were administered the PRIDE survey instrument for this research study. The instrument was designed to assess the student's history, pattern, attitude, prevalence and critical incidents involving cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other drug misusage. Descriptive research techniques were utilized for this study. Ninety-one respondents were randomly selected among the population of two hundred students. The research findings were overwhelming. Based on the findings, there is no significant difference in drug usage among adolescents in rural and metropolitan areas in the United States