Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST BVlz7R0x. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. Sociodemographic correlates of drug use among the general household population may have less accuracy and utility for describing risk factors for drug use among nonhousehold populations like the homeless and transient. This analysis examines correlates of past year use of marijuana, cocaine, and needles among homeless and transient people in the Washington, DC, metropolitan statistical area (DC MSA) and discusses them vis-a-vis traditional indicators of drug use among the general household population. Data are from a study conducted in the DC MSA in 1991 that used a multistage sampling design and surveyed a random sample of 908 homeless and transient people ages 12 years and older. The analysis uses multiple logistic regression to assess the independent effects of demographic and other predictors on selected drug use measures among this population. Only past year use of cocaine differed significantly by race or ethnicity, with a greater likelihood among homeless blacks than among homeless whites. Measures of social achievement and socioeconomic status related to the prevalence and risks of drug use among the general household population have but limited applicability in predicting drug use among people who are homeless and transient. Along with other indicators of behavioral and health risks, history of institutionalization, urbanization, and chronicity of homelessness should be considered to improve the epidemiologic assessment of this population.
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