Aggressive behavior and opportunities to purchase drugs.

Robins, Kellam, and others found robust evidence linking youthful aggression and deviance to later illicit drug use. Some investigators favor the interpretation that drug use is just one manifestation or complication of a more general problem behavior syndrome or conduct disorder. In this work, we test the complementary hypothesis that aggressive youth are more likely to be approached with offers to buy drugs, and found the most aggressive youths were about five times more likely to be offered drugs for purchase. However, this association was much attenuated when levels of delinquency were taken into account. In this respect, delinquent rather than aggressive behavior might be more salient. This study's evidence does not contradict previous problem behavior theories, but rather prompts new ideas about how aggression, delinquency, and drug use might be linked. One testable hypothesis is that youths with both aggression and delinquency are more likely to enter microenvironments where drug dealing is more prevalent. Or, their observable behaviors or physical appearance might function as signs of apparent willingness to try drugs. These results add to our understanding of links between aggression, delinquency, and drug use, and introduce a new line of epidemiological inquiry focused upon drug purchase opportunities.