Inhalant Abuse: A Volatile Research Agenda, 129

Beauvais observes that outbreaks of acute volatile solvent abuse can be
episodic. Marked short-term changes in the prevalence of inhalant use among
Texas secondary students between 1988 and 1990 illustrate this point.
Overall, the percentage of secondary students who huffed or sniffed any substance
within the school year decreased from 19 percent in 1988 to only 12
percent by 1990 (TCADA 1990). Reported lifetime use of volatile solvents
over all grades decreased between the 2 years with a corresponding diminution
in the number of different volatile solvents used.
Beauvais also presents preliminary data associating early volatile substance
abuse with an increased risk of dropping out of school. Again, the 1988 Texas
School Survey data are consistent with these conclusions. For example, in
both 1988 and 1990 surveys, volatile solvent-abusing youth had many characteristics
associated with dropping out: poor academic achievement, high rates
of truancy, and an excess of disciplinary problems. The survey results also
consistently supported several other of Beauvais’ observations about acute
volatile solvent abuse, including patterns of use by race-ethnicity and gender.
The association between inhalant use and generally at-risk youth is also apparent
from a 1989 survey of youth entering the Texas Youth Commission
(Fredlund et al. 1990a). Of these youths, 39 percent admitted lifetime use of
inhalants, while 23 percent admitted use in the past month. These rates are
approximately twice as high as those reported by Texas secondary students in
1988 (controlling for age, gender, and race-ethnicity).
According to Beauvais, relatively few individuals continue to use solvents into
adulthood. Texas survey data generally support this observation. Less than
0.5 percent of Texas household adults reported current use of inhalants
(Spence et al. 1989). Most adults who admitted current inhalant use reportedly
used nitrites; use of volatile solvents was very rare. However, 27 percent
of inmates entering the Texas Department of Corrections prison system
(Fredlund et al. 1990b) reported a lifetime experience with such substances.
Recommendations for Research
Beauvais makes several important suggestions for future research in the epidemiology
of inhalant use. Several are methodological and based on the observation
that a plethora of substances are sniffed or huffed in order to
achieve intoxication. While epidemiologists refer to substances taken in this
47