| Abstract: | Data from the second and third waves of an ongoing study of inner-city African Americans (N = 411) were used to assess the relationship between substance use and affective distress. Involvement with eight substances was examined individually and collectively over a 7-year interval, during which time the study cohort moved from ages 18 to 23 years to 26 to 31 years. Regression analysis indicated that substance use was associated directly with deleterious change in affective distress. Important gender differences were evident in the magnitude, related substances, and timing of these drug effects. Further analysis showed that the introduction of life-style controls for social integration and social attainment did not substantially alter the observed drug effect. |
