Younger versus older African Americans: patterns and prevalence of recent illicit drug use

The current study examined recent substance use among younger and older African Americans and factors associated with recent use.

The current study used a subset of African American men and women (N = 260) from the NEURO-HIV Epidemiological Study (Mage = 42, SD = 9.27; 59% female). Self-report of past 6 month substance use was evaluated for 21 different substances by routes of administration (ROA).

Older adults were 1.9 times (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.13-3.26) more likely to have used crack in the past 6 months and half as likely to have used marijuana (AOR = .44, 95% CI = .25-.77). There were no significant differences for heroin use.

Substance use at midlife may have significant implications for adverse social and health outcomes among African Americans. Findings support the need to better understand the developmental pathways of drug use and dependence among African Americans.