Self-concept and drug involvement among urban junior high school youths

Correlates of alcohol use and misuse in fourth-grade children: psychosocial, peer, parental, and family factors

To determine level of alcohol use/misuse and to examine correlates of these behaviors, 1,314 fourth-grade students were surveyed. The questionnaire included 55 items concerning tolerance of deviance, deviant self-image, self-efficacy, susceptibility to peer pressure, personal and peer approval of alcohol use, peer adjustment, parent nurturance and monitoring, family adjustment, parental permissiveness, peer use of alcohol, and exposure to alcohol. The items were factor analyzed and indices constructed. The indices generally had acceptable alpha coefficients (alpha = .61-.91); two exceptions were peer adjustment (alpha = .51) and parental permissiveness (alpha = .42). Tolerance of deviance, deviant self-image, susceptibility to peer pressure, personal and peer approval, peer use and exposure by peers, and parental permissiveness were positively correlated with alcohol use/misuse. Self-efficacy, child-parent interactions, family adjustment, and peer adjustment were negatively correlated with alcohol use/misuse. Implications for the design of family-based alcohol use/misuse prevention programs are discussed.

The effects of family structure and family relations on adolescent marijuana use

The role of family structure in adolescence has been linked to a host of problem behaviors, including marijuana use. This paper investigates the relationship between family structure and marijuana use, and elaborates previous research by 1) exploring several intervening mechanisms that affect the relationship, and 2) examining the effects of a variety of family forms. Analyses of data from the National Youth Survey (1977-79) indicate that 1) a parental divorce or living with a stepparent decreases family attachment among adolescents; 2) attenuated family attachment and involvement increase the likelihood of associating with drug-using peers; and 3) less family involvement and increased associations with drug-using peers increase the probability of initiating marijuana use and elevate frequency of use.

Environmental correlates of adolescent substance use and misuse: implications for prevention programs

The research in the areas of peer, family and community environmental effects on adolescent substance use and misuse clearly and consistently shows that peer substance use behavior is the primary predictor of adolescent alcohol use. Peer norms, however, are more important in the prediction of adolescent alcohol misuse. Parental norms and monitoring are secondary to the peer variables, but still of significance in the prediction of adolescent alcohol use and misuse. The intrapersonal construct of susceptibility to peer pressure is as important as the peer and parent variables in the prediction of both alcohol use and misuse in adolescence.

Alcohol Use and Hispanic Youth: An Overview

A review of recent, pertinent literature was conducted on the extent and nature of alcohol-related behavior among Hispanic adolescents. Problems related to the available literature included a lack of differentiation of major Hispanic subgroups, small and non-random samples and an over-emphasis on illicit drugs which tended to divert attention from drinking behavior. Onset and prevalence data indicated patterns of use somewhat similar to the general population. Most interesting, however, was the pattern of poly-substance abuse which develops early in adolescence and persists into the late adolescent years among both Hispanics and other youths. Further, problems related to alcohol use are evident among Hispanic youths. The literature indicated some relationship between alcohol use and family and peer factors.

Trends in drug orientations and behavior: changes in a rural community, 1975-1982

This paper examines trends in rural American rates of marijuana use and drug-related orientations over an 8-year period. The younger rural youths (13-year-olds) in our three surveys (1975, 1979, and 1982) reported significant declines in rates of use and expressed a general trend toward conservatism. The attitudes and orientations of older youths (16-year-olds) changed also, and in the same directions, but those changes were not statistically significant. Use rates for 16-year-olds, on the other hand, increased, but again the changes were not statistically significant. In at least one cohort we studied, attitudes changed prior to shifts in behavior. We also observed that the predictive ability of the selected attitudes and orientations increased considerably from 1975 to 1982. In the midst of a movement toward conservatism on drug issues, liberalness was even more closely linked to marijuana use than in the previous decade. Lastly, we evaluate the implications of these findings for drug prevention policy and future research.

Family structure, race, and adolescents' alcohol use: a research note

Family structure is related to adolescents' drinking behavior differently for Blacks than Whites. Black adolescents were more likely to be heavy alcohol users when both natural parents were present, but the opposite was true for the whites. Only when non-White adolescents were in families with both parents, and the father had at least a high school education, did they drink near the rate of White adolescents. There was support of social learning theory.

Critical issues and experiences in drug treatment and prevention evaluation

The present paper considers major perspectives on behavior that are prevalent in the social sciences and shows how these relate to divergent conceptions of the people who use various substances and the ways in which drug taking is associated with individuals' personal, social, and cultural experiences. This discussion will enable us to develop an ethnographically informed, social context model of drug use which sees substance use as motivated, adaptive behavior that is pursued in the consummation of valued experiences. Discussion next turns to reviewing relevant drug treatment and drug education/prevention literature, as well as the experiences of the author, that have informed the development of the frame of reference the paper emphasizes. In this process a coherent way of approaching the relationships individuals may establish with drugs and strategies for drug treatment and education/prevention efforts are set out.