Data from the literature varies regarding ethnicity and inhalant usage; Mosher, Rotolo, Krupski, & Stark (2004) found that race/ethnicity was a strong predictor of lifetime prevalence of inhalant use, with Native-American youth being particularly likely to use inhalants.

Conversely, Beauvais et al. (2002) found that inhalant use among American Indian adolescents has decreased over the last decade. They did find that a number of social and perceptual factors correlate with inhalant use across Mexican American, American Indian and non-Latino adolescents. Peer factors appear dominant, although they are somewhat less important for Mexican American and Indian youth. Increased perception of harm reduced inhalant amongst all groups.

According to NIDA (2005) People who abuse inhalants live in both urban and rural settings. Poverty, a history of physical or sexual abuse, poor grades, and school dropout all are associated with inhalant abuse. Source: http://www.nida.nih.gov/InhalantsAlert/index.html.