Perspectives on Adolescent Drug Use

Perspectives on Adolescent Drug Use provides an understanding of the nature of the problem of drug-taking among adolescents in order to plan effective countermeasures. Although contemporary research has provided descriptions of adolescent patterns and trends, an important issue is whether these portrayals are accurate because they may not correctly reflect the patterns and trends of drug and alcohol use among minority subgroups, such as Native-American or Latino adolescents. These highly informative chapters highlight the special problems of drug-taking behavior among minority youth, the issue of frequence of drug use among adolescents, and the key issue of prevention of drug use among adolescents. A discussion of the problems of accurately diagnosing adolescents who drink is also presented. This comprehensive book is especially important for professionals involved with adolescents, and for health and public policy authorities involved in the planning of intervention and prevention services for adolescents.