Perceptions about substance use among male adolescents in juvenile detention

Although adolescents in juvenile detention represent a vulnerable population who are exposed to situations that foster risk-taking behaviors, few studies have been conducted with detained adolescents to determine their perceptions regarding substance use. Ethnographic interviews and observations were conducted with 20 male adolescents who resided in a large metropolitan area juvenile detention facility, to discover their substance use beliefs and the decisions they make to continue or discontinue substance use or abuse. The participants described how they initiated substance use and said that they had rarely made active decisions about substance use until they were detained. They explained the decisions they made, while they were in detention, to stop or cut down their substance use after release. They talked about the problems they anticipated when they returned home and how they hoped to balance their resolutions with their reputations and obligations. Time-out in juvenile detention may offer nurses the opportunity to capitalize on the potential readiness of detained adolescents to make resolution decisions regarding risky behaviors. Findings from a similar study conducted with 20 detained adolescent women were reported elsewhere.