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Title: The Formation of a Socioeconomic Disparity: A Case Study of Cocaine and Marijuana Use in the 1990s
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Miech, Richard A.
Chilcoat, Howard
The Formation of a Socioeconomic Disparity: A Case Study of Cocaine and Marijuana Use in the 1990s
American Journal of Preventive Medicine 32,6,Supplement (June 2007): S171-S176.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379707001092
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Discrimination, Sex; Drug Use; Educational Attainment; Ethnic Differences; Gender Differences; Health Factors; Hispanics; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Factors; Substance Use

Background: Around the year 1990, the reputation of cocaine use changed from glamorous to undesirable, and at the same time, a socioeconomic disparity in cocaine use emerged. This study examined (1) whether the socioeconomic disparity was created by differential incidence, differential cessation, or both, (2) whether a socioeconomic disparity also developed in marijuana use, and (3) whether disparities formed across race, Hispanic ethnicity, and/or gender.

Methods: The analyses center on 6544 respondents aged 14–21 in 1979 in the National Longitudinal Survey of 1979 that provided information on past-year use of powder cocaine and marijuana use before and after 1990—specifically, in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, and 1998.

Results: Both differential incidence and differential cessation across education contributed to the formation of the socioeconomic disparity in cocaine use, although differential cessation played a more influential role in this cohort. A socioeconomic disparity in marijuana use also came about around the same time. No emerging disparities by race, Hispanic ethnicity, or gender were observed.

Conclusions: This case study suggests that the redefinition of a health behavior as unhealthy will result in a socioeconomic disparity in the behavior across socioeconomic strata as a result of both differential incidence and cessation, but disparities will not necessarily form by race, ethnicity, or gender. [Copyright 2007 Elsevier]

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Bibliography Citation
Miech, Richard A. and Howard Chilcoat. "The Formation of a Socioeconomic Disparity: A Case Study of Cocaine and Marijuana Use in the 1990s." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 32,6,Supplement (June 2007): S171-S176.