Sequential Patterns of Multiple-Drug Use Among High School Students

Multiple-drug use follows a progressive pattern, with users typically moving through a sequence starting with alcohol and marijuana, then hashish, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, mescaline, cocaine, and finally heroin. This finding comes from a 1972-1973 survey of 1,094 high school students in greater New Haven, Connecticut. Cigarettes and glue did not fit this sequence. The order in which students reported starting each drug only partly matched the progressive pattern identified by scalogram analysis.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Only recently have multiple-drug use studies involving more than heroin and marijuana begun to be reported in the literature. Four of these studies have found evidence that multiple-drug use is a progressive phenomenon, although the particular pattern of multiple-drug use reported in different populations varies somewhat. This study examines the patterns of multiple-drug use reported by a random sample of 1,094 high school students living in greater New Haven, Conn in the 1972-1973 academic school year. Scalogram analysis reveals a progressive relationship for nine drugs: alcohol, marijuana, hashish, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, mescaline, cocaine, and heroin. Cigarettes and glue were not found to play a part in this pattern. The temporal order in which respondents reported that they had begun using each drug supports the results of scalogram analysis only in part.