Acquisition of high-risk behavior by African-American, Latino, and Caucasian middle-school students.

The purpose of this study was to measure the stages of acquisition of selected high-risk health behaviors in 768 randomly selected 7th- and 8th-graders in a Florida school district. Specific high-risk health behaviors included use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, fighting and weapon carrying, and suicide ideation. Analysis indicated few behaviors that were significantly different when African-American and Latino students were compared with Caucasian students. The most weapon carrying was reported by Latinos. Fewer Caucasian students than their minority peers used inhalants. Knowledge of stages of acquisition among small diverse samples may assist school personnel to intervene during the inculcation process with appropriate responsive programs.