Young adult, rural, African American stimulant users: antecedents and vulnerabilities.

Early initiation of substance use appears to be an alarming trend among rural minorities. This study focuses on 18- to 21-year-old African American stimulant users in the Arkansas Mississippi Delta. Most participants had no high school diploma and were unemployed; 74.5% had already been arrested. Substance use was initiated early and nearly all of the men and three-quarters of the women already met criteria for lifetime abuse or dependence. Only 18% reported that they had ever received substance abuse treatment. The results suggest that substance use interventions in rural communities will require multi-faceted strategies addressing economic, educational and healthcare disparities.