Decisions about substance abuse among adolescents in juvenile detention

Ethnographic research was done to discover how adolescents make decisions about substance abuse while in juvenile detention. Segments of transcribed data from small focus group discussions portray the perspectives of 20 teenage girls in one juvenile detention facility located in a large metropolitan area. Observations and individual interviews corroborated the dynamic interactive dialogue occurring among the teens during group discussions. The young women described the situations and problems that led to substance abuse and their subsequent detention. The sharing of life experiences provided an opportunity to reinforce resolutions to change and plans to abstain from troublesome behaviors in the future.