Predictors of African American Adolescent Sexual Activity: an Ecological Framework

The present study identified predictors of African American adolescent sexual activity. An ecological model of personal, familial, and extrafamilial risk factors was proposed. Forty-eight female and 53 male African American adolescents participated. Hierarchical logistic regression and structural equation modeling found some support for the model. Risk factors were found at each level of the adolescents social ecology and explained over 80% of the variance in sexual activity. Being older, male, having low parental monitoring, using drugs, and having friends that used drugs decreased the probability of being a virgin. Virgins also expected to live 10 years longer than nonvirgins. It was suggested that fathers and community members should take a more active role in adolescents lives to curb the threat of HIV/AIDS and other STDs in the African American community.

Family structure and substance use problems in adolescence and early adulthood: examining explanations for the relationship

AIMS

Our study has two goals: to evaluate variation in symptoms of substance abuse/dependence by family structure and to examine several potential explanations for this association, including differences in socio-economic status, social support, social stress and perceived approval and use of substances by family and friends.

DESIGN

Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to examine the association between family type and problematic substance use and to assess the hypothesized mediators.

SETTING

Data were collected between 1998 and 2000 as part of a study of the prevalence and social distributions of psychiatric and substance use disorders. The study involved face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of young adults in a South Florida community.

PARTICIPANTS

Respondents (n = 1760) were between 18 and 23 years of age. Approximately 25% were of Cuban origin, 25% other Caribbean basin Hispanic, 25% African American and 25% non-Hispanic white.

MEASUREMENTS

Four family types are examined: mother-father families, single-parent families, single-parent families that include other adult relative(s) and stepfamilies. Problematic substance use is measured by a set of 22 substance abuse/dependence symptoms.

FINDINGS

Controlling for race-ethnicity and gender, respondents from single-parent families report a significantly higher level of problematic substance use than those from mother-father families. Although nearly all explanations receive support, we find the strongest evidence for differential association with deviant peers and exposure to stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that--rather than representing a unique and independent predictor of substance use problems--family structure can be viewed as a marker of the unequal distribution of factors influencing the risk of problematic substance use.

Adolescent substance use and family-based risk and protective factors: a literature review

Adolescent substance use has become a serious concern nationwide. Although there are many ways of viewing adolescent substance use, family influence has been established as one of the strongest sources of risk and protection. A review of the literature indicated relevant theories for understanding adolescent substance use and specific family-based variables influencing adolescent substance use. In general, there seems to be a relationship between adolescent substance use and family-based risk and protective factors. Relevant theories identified in the literature review include family systems theory, social cognitive theory, social control theory, and strain theory. Specific family-based risk and protective factors include family relationships such as with siblings and parents and family characteristics such as ethnicity and religious backgrounds. Future implications for research and prevention/intervention in relation to family-based risk and protective factors are discussed.

The association of current stimulant use with demographic, substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among high risk youth

This paper reports the association of current stimulant use with demographic, other substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among a large sample of high risk adolescents. A total of 21.4% of the sample reported using stimulants in the last 30 days. In a final, multivariable model, nonredundant concurrent predictors of current stimulant use were reports that friends use stimulants, reports that stimulants were likely to be used again in the next 12 months, use of alcohol, hallucinogens, or cocaine in the last 30 days, use of alcohol or other drugs to feel more safe, and reports of depression in the last week. Being above the median on 0 to all 7 of these correlates predicted from 0% to 85% of those who were above the median on current stimulant use. One may speculate that programming for these stimulant-using youth should include treatment of multiple substances, depression, and correction of social-cognitive misperceptions.

Adolescent use of illicit drugs other than marijuana: how important is social bonding and for which ethnic groups?

We predicted Grade 12 use of illicit drugs other than marijuana ("hard" drugs) from characteristics at Grade 10, examining the protective value of social bonds and testing whether certain social bonds have greater importance for some racial/ethnic groups. We also explored the association of previous substance use with later "hard" drug use when social bonds and a broad range of other personal and environmental variables are statistically controlled. Bonds with family were inversely related to any use of illicit drugs other than marijuana; various forms of prior use were positively related to both any and frequent use. However, variables other than social bonds and prior use were equal or stronger predictors of both outcomes. Some differences were obtained across racial groups: African-Americans were less likely to use illicit drugs other than marijuana, Mexican-Americans were more affected by family factors than were other groups, and Asian-Americans were more affected by school failure. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Self-attributed consequences of cocaine use

This study examines self-attributed consequences of cocaine use in a nonclinical sample of 1,270 young adults. A social learning perspective was used to examine the ability of motivational dimensions of use, as well as use patterns, to predict negative consequences of use. Four scales of negative consequences emerged: Negative Effects, Dependency Symptoms, Physical/Social, and Legal/Interpersonal consequences. Reasons for using cocaine, patterns of use, and their interactions significantly predicted negative consequences of use. Those subjects who endorsed coping reasons for use were more likely, while those who endorsed uplift reasons were less likely, to experience negative consequences.