A Substance Use Survey With Old Order Amish Early Adolescents: Perceptions of Peer Alcohol and Drug Use

Students in a junior high school serving a large Old Order Amish settlement completed a survey of attitudes, opinions, and intentions regarding substance use. A total of 1,031 students participated across a four-year span, approximately equally divided between Amish and non-Amish youths. Amish youths maintain attitudes that suggest perceived greater use of substances by their peers and greater concern about this use; however, they also express the intent to use alcohol and tobacco at a higher rate than non-Amish counterparts. The study addresses implications for interventions among Amish youths as they mature and enter an often culturally sanctioned period of alcohol use.