The continuing problem of youthful solvent abuse in New York State.

The major finding in the comparison of surveys of New York State secondary school students is the increasing use of solvents in this population over time. What in 1974-75 seemed to be limited use, by 1983 was found to be of widespread use. Very much like the survey of 1974-75 and the findings in the literature, age of first use together with the recentness of use appears to cluster in the preteens or the early teen years and tapers off during the teen years. Of interest is the fact that, along with the general upward rate of use over the surveys, those 18 years or older also show an upward trend. Some evidence in the recent literature indicates that adults, too, are found to have a problem with inhalants. Similar to the 1974-75 survey, but unlike findings in the literature, males and females continue to show similar rates of solvent use. Although males do generally surpass females in these use rates, the differences are usually not significant. In light of the literature on solvent abuse among Hispanic youth, the 1978 and 1983 surveys indicated mixed findings. Hispanic students in New York City consistently showed intermediate levels of solvent use; whereas, in 1983, Hispanic students residing in areas of the state outside of New York City showed excessive rates of solvent use. To the extent that the problem of acculturation among poor Hispanic youth may contribute to solvent abuse, an explanation may be found in the contrasts between living in New York City and living in the rest of the State. In New York City, which has an extremely large Hispanic population (about 20 percent of the population), feelings of isolation and cultural distance may not be so profound. In the rest of the state, where the proportion of Hispanics is quite small (about 2 percent of the population), these cultural problems may be more of a factor. Reasons, however, for the extraordinary increase in solvent use among those Hispanic youth, specifically between 1978 and 1983, are difficult to offer. Again, very similar to the 1974-75 findings, the 1978 and 1983 surveys found a strong relationship between solvent use and poor academic performance. Furthermore, the early findings relating to solvent use to a lack of family cohesion was supported by the 1978 survey where comparable information was gathered. The pattern of drug-using or polydrug use found among solvent users in the 1974-75 survey was underscored by the findings in the subsequent surveys.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)