Group self-identification as a prospective predictor of drug use and violence in high-risk youth.

This study provides a 1-year prospective analysis of group self-identification as a predictor of adolescent drug use and violence. Youth identified with discrete groups. In most comparisons, 1 year later, a high-risk group reported greater levels of drug use and violence-related exposure than other groups, and the statistical relation between group self-identification and drug use or violence remained after baseline assessment of the drug use or violence measure was controlled for. This is the 1st study to demonstrate that group self-identification is a significant prospective predictor of drug use and other problem behaviors.