Peer networks and sensation seeking: some implications for primary socialization theory

"Here's the 'kicker': School factors associated with opioid misuse among US African American Youth

Recent evidence has suggested that African Americans are at higher risk for opioid misuse, compared to their relative counterparts. However, school factors have largely been ignored. Given that the school is an environment for the development of risky behavior sequalae, more research is warranted on the relationship between opioid misuse and school factors. The present data used pooled 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data to investigate the relationship between opioid misuse and school factors among a national sample of African American adolescents ages 12-17 (n = 7,236). Results revealed that a sizeable percentage of adolescents (3.51%) misused opioids in the past year. Adolescents at highest risk were female, older, in high school, participated in violence, and did not like school. Moreover, a greater percentage (∼33%) revealed the lack of drug education in schools. We believe our findings can inform behavioral health messages and harm reduction efforts.

Dopaminergic Genetic Variation in Young Adolescents: Associations with Sensation-Seeking

Deficient reward functioning, including reward-related personality, is implicated in depression's etiology. A dopaminergic genetic multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) has previously been associated with neural reward responsivity but, despite theoretical basis, has not been studied with reward-related personality. Such research is needed to elucidate associations between genetic variation and reward-related personality in a developmentally sensitive population. In the present study, we examined associations between dopaminergic MGPS's and self-report reward-related personality in two young adolescent samples aged 10-15 years old (Sample 1: N = 100 girls, 82% White, 18% Other; Sample 2: N = 141, 65 girls, 76 boys, 89.36% White, 10.64% Other) using an established MGPS and an augmented MGPS. A "mini" meta-analysis synthesized results across samples. In Sample 1, an exploratory mediation analysis intended to gauge effect size for future work tested a path between the MGPS and depression through significant reward traits. In each independent sample, both MGPS's showed significant associations with sensation-seeking but not social drive, a pattern that persisted following correction. Effect sizes of novel variants were at least as robust as established variants, suggesting their added utility. Additionally, the exploratory mediation analysis suggested no noteworthy indirect effect, but a small (R² = 0.022), statistically non-significant direct effect of the MGPS predicting prospective depressive symptoms. Results suggest that dopaminergic genetic variation is associated with the reward-related personality trait of sensation seeking but not social drive. Additional work is needed to probe whether sensation seeking may be a path through which this genetic variation confers depression risk.

Risk and protective factors for opioid misuse in American Indian adolescents

BACKGROUND

American Indian (AI) youth have disproportionately high rates of both heroin and other opioid misuse and recently have seen a large increase in negative outcomes due to opioid misuse. To address the dearth of research on within-group risk factors for heroin and other opioid misuse in AI adolescents, the goal of the present study is to explore the influence of peer, family, and school factors on opioid use among AI youth.

METHODS

Participants (n = 3498, 49.5 % female, M_age = 14.8) were drawn from a large school-based sample of AI youth living on or near reservations, across six geographic regions, between 2009 and 2013. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire regarding substance use and related factors. Multilevel logistic regression was utilized to examine the role of peer, family, and school-related factors on past-month and lifetime heroin and other opioid misuse.

RESULTS

Greater peer substance use (OR = 1.14, p<0.001), lower family disapproval of use (OR = .98, p = 0.01), and lower school performance (OR = .90, p = 0.01) were associated with greater likelihood of lifetime opioid misuse. Greater peer substance use (OR = 1.05, p<0.001) and lower family disapproval of use (OR = .99, p = 0.04) were associated with greater likelihood of past month opioid misuse. Greater peer substance use was the only variable significantly related to greater likelihood of lifetime (OR = 1.15, p<0.001) or past month heroin use (OR = 1.02, p = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the need for interventions and offer potential factors to consider in developing interventions for heroin and/or other opioid misuse among AI adolescents.

Association between speeding and use of alcohol and medicinal and illegal drugs and involvement in road traffic crashes among motor vehicle drivers

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to study the association between self-reported road traffic crashes (RTCs) and recent use of alcohol and medicinal and illicit drug use and self-reported speeding in the previous 2 years.

METHODS

During the period from April 2016 to April 2017, drivers of cars, vans, motorcycles, and mopeds were stopped in a Norwegian roadside survey performed in collaboration with the police. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The drivers were asked to deliver an oral fluid sample (mixed saliva), which was analyzed for alcohol and 39 illicit and medicinal drugs and metabolites. In addition, data on age, sex, and self-reported speeding tickets and RTCs during the previous 2 years were collected.

RESULTS

A total of 5,031 participants were included in the study, and 4.9% tested positive for the use of one or more illicit or medicinal drugs or alcohol. We found a significant, positive association between the use of cannabis and RTC involvement (odds ratio [OR] = 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-3.57; P = 0.035) and also between previous speeding tickets and RTC involvement (OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.08-1.80; P = 0.012). In addition, older age groups were found to have a significant, negative association with RTC involvement, with ORs equal to or less than 0.49, when using the age group 16-24 as reference.

CONCLUSION

Speeding, as an indicator of risk behavior, and the use of cannabis were associated with previous RTC involvement, whereas increasing age was significantly associated with lower risk. This is consistent with previous studies on RTCs.

Translation in Tobacco and Drug Abuse Prevention Research

The purpose of this article is to describe the translation of research on tobacco and drug abuse prevention from basic science to program development to large-scale program dissemination, and from animal to human studies. Where relevant, continuity of translation is discussed by referring to two variables that have been studied for their potential relationship to drug use risk in both animals and humans: sensation and novelty seeking and low impulse control. Review of the research indicates relatively slow translation until the early 1990s. The authors recommend several mechanisms to promote more rapid translation across types of research that encourage reciprocal rather than unidirectional transmission of knowledge to expedite the development and diffusion of more timely, targeted drug abuse prevention programs.

Impulsivity and substance use in young adulthood

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Although the significant role of impulsive personality on substance use has been widely documented, distinct aspects of impulsivity and their relation to substance use during young adulthood have received scant attention. We sought to fill this research gap and explored impulsivity subtraits in relation to hazardous drinking and illicit substance use in young adulthood.

METHODS

The present study used cross-sectional survey data collected from a community sample of 257 young adults aged 18-25 (53% female). Data were primarily analyzed by three different types of regression models.

RESULTS

We found impulsivity to be more strongly associated with illicit substance use than hazardous drinking during young adulthood. Among the four impulsivity subtraits examined, lack of premeditation (p < .01) and sensation seeking (p < .05) were significantly related to illicit substance use in young adulthood.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

These findings suggest that each impulsivity subtrait might play different roles in illicit substance use during young adulthood. For young adults, assessment of differential patterns of impulsive personality in individuals with substance use problems may have important implication for treatment strategies.

Precursors of adolescent substance use from early childhood and early adolescence: testing a developmental cascade model

This study examined developmentally salient risk and protective factors of adolescent substance use assessed during early childhood and early adolescence using a sample of 310 low-income boys. Child problem behavior and proximal family risk and protective factors (i.e., parenting and maternal depression) during early childhood, as well as child and family factors and peer deviant behavior during adolescence, were explored as potential precursors to later substance use during adolescence using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that early childhood risk and protective factors (i.e., child externalizing problems, mothers' depressive symptomatology, and nurturant parenting) were indirectly related to substance use at the age of 17 via risk and protective factors during early and middle adolescence (i.e., parental knowledge and externalizing problems). The implications of these findings for early prevention and intervention are discussed.

Texting while driving and other risky motor vehicle behaviors among US high school students

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of texting/e-mailing while driving (TWD) and association of TWD with other risky motor vehicle (MV) behaviors among US high school students.

METHODS

Data were used from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which assessed TWD during the 30 days before the survey among 8505 students aged ≥16 years from a nationally representative sample of US high school students. TWD frequency was coded into dichotomous and polychotomous variables. Logistic regression assessed the relationship between TWD and other risky driving behaviors, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and sex.

RESULTS

The prevalence of TWD on ≥1 days during the 30 days before the survey was 44.5% (95% confidence interval: 40.8%-48.2%). Students who engaged in TWD were more likely than their non-TWD counterparts to not always wear their seatbelt (prevalence ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.16; 1.07-1.26), ride with a driver who had been drinking alcohol (1.74; 1.57-1.93), and drink alcohol and drive (5.33; 4.32-6.59). These other risky MV behaviors were most likely to occur among students who frequently engaged in TWD.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of US high school students aged ≥16 years report TWD during the past 30 days; these students are more likely to engage in additional risky MV behaviors. This suggests there is a subgroup of students who may place themselves, their passengers, and others on the road at elevated risk for a crash-related injury or fatality by engaging in multiple risky MV behaviors.

Prospective influence of music-related media exposure on adolescent substance-use initiation: a peer group mediation model

The present study tests prospective effects of music-related media content (from television, Internet, and magazines) on youth alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use initiation. Indirect effects through association with substance-using peers were tested in a 4-wave longitudinal data set (2,729 middle school students for the alcohol model, 2,716 students for the cigarette model, and 2,710 students for the marijuana model) from schools across the United States. In so doing, the authors examine theoretical claims regarding socialization mechanisms for effects of popular music listenership on substance use initiation. Results supported direct effects on alcohol and cigarette uptake, and indirect effects through association with substance-using peers on all 3 substances. This research, in combination with prior studies by several research teams, suggests elevated popular music involvement is a risk factor with respect to younger adolescents' substance use behavior. This influence is in part explained by the role of music-related media content in socialization to substance-using peer groups.

Network interventions

The term "network interventions" describes the process of using social network data to accelerate behavior change or improve organizational performance. In this Review, four strategies for network interventions are described, each of which has multiple tactical alternatives. Many of these tactics can incorporate different mathematical algorithms. Consequently, researchers have many intervention choices at their disposal. Selecting the appropriate network intervention depends on the availability and character of network data, perceived characteristics of the behavior, its existing prevalence, and the social context of the program.

Factors associated with adolescents' propensity to drive with multiple passengers and to engage in risky driving behaviors

PURPOSE

Research shows that parenting factors and individual difference variables, such as sensation seeking (SS) and risk perceptions (RPs), are associated with increased motor vehicle crash risk for young drivers. The presence of peer passengers is also known to be associated with increased crash risk. However, as previous studies did not study these factors concurrently, less is known about the factors that are associated with driving with peer passengers and if peer passengers may mediate the effect of parenting and individual difference variables on adolescents' engagement in risky driving behavior.

METHODS

We examined predictors of driving with multiple passengers (DWMPs) and explored it as a potential mediator of pathways from three factors: (1) SS, (2) RPs, and (3) Parental monitoring and rule-setting to risky driving behaviors in a convenience sample of 198 adolescent drivers using a cross-sectional Web-based survey.

RESULTS

Findings indicate that both stronger RPs and perceiving parents as strong monitors and rule setters were associated with less engagement in risky driving, whereas greater SS was associated with more engagement in risky driving; RPs, monitoring, and SS were also significantly associated with DWMPs in these same directions. DWMPs partially mediated the effect of these risk factors on risky driving behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Results inform theory and policy by examining factors associated with risk taking in the context of adolescent driving. Interventions can be developed to complement graduated driver licensing laws by targeting individual difference variables and decreasing opportunities for peer passenger carriage.

Race differences in longitudinal associations between adolescent personal and peer marijuana use and adulthood sexually transmitted infection risk

To assess whether adolescent marijuana exposure represents a modifiable predictor of risk of sexually transmitted infections as adults, we used nationally representative, longitudinal data from Waves I (1994-1995, adolescence) and III (2001-2002, adulthood) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 10,738) to examine racial and gender differences in associations between adolescent marijuana use, current use, and peer use and adulthood multiple partnerships, self-reported sexually transmitted infections, and biologically confirmed sexually transmitted infections. The risk of sexually transmitted infections as adults was predicted by adolescent marijuana use in all groups except Black women and by peer marijuana use among Black men. Adolescents who use or have friends who use marijuana constitute priority populations for sexually transmitted infection prevention.

Aggression as positive reinforcement in people with intellectual disabilities

From an applied behavior-analytic perspective, aggression in people with intellectual disabilities is mostly maintained by social reinforcement consequences. However, nonsocial consequences have also been identified in functional assessments on aggression. Behaviors producing their own reinforcement have been labeled "automatic" or "nonsocial" in the behavior-analytic literature, a label that bares a striking resemblance to biobehavioral explanations of reward-seeking behaviors. Biobehavioral studies have revealed that aggression activates the same endogenous brain mechanisms as primary reinforcers like food. Therefore, integrating brain-environment explanations would result in a better understanding of the functional mechanisms associated with nonsocial aggression. The purpose of this paper was to explore aggression as a reinforcing consequence for reinforcement-seeking behaviors in people with intellectual disabilities. First, the literature establishing aggression as reinforcement for arbitrary responding will be reviewed. Next, the reward-related biological process associated with aggression was described. Finally, the paper discusses what might be done to assess and treat aggression maintained by nonsocial reinforcement.

The Influence of Youth Music Television Viewership on Changes in Cigarette Use and Association with Smoking Peers: A Social Identity, Reinforcing Spirals Perspective

Prior research has found strong evidence of a prospective association between R movie exposure and teen smoking. Using parallel process latent-growth modeling, the present study examines prospective associations between viewing of music video channels on television (e.g., MTV and VH-1) and changes over time in smoking and association with smoking peers. Results showed that baseline viewing of music-oriented channels such as MTV and VH-1 robustly predicted increasing trajectories of smoking and of associating with smoking peers, even after application of a variety of controls including parent reports of monitoring behavior. These results are consistent with the arguments from the reinforcing spirals model that such media use serves as a means of developing emergent adolescent social identities consistent with associating with smoking peers and acquiring smoking and other risk behaviors; evidence also suggests that media choice in reinforcing spiral processes are dynamic and evolve as social identity evolves.

Whose opinion matters? The relationship between injunctive norms and alcohol consequences in college students

Harm reduction approaches may benefit from research extending the exploration of predictors of alcohol use per se to those components most directly related to alcohol-related harm. This investigation evaluated the relationship between perceived injunctive norms of alcohol use (level of approval of drinking behaviors in specific situations) and the experience of alcohol-related consequences as a function of typical student reference groups at increasing levels of similarity to the respondent: based on race, gender, Greek status, and combinations of these dimensions, as well as parents, close friends, and the students' own attitudes. Participants were 3753 students (61% female) from two campuses who completed an online survey. Preliminary analyses determined that there were no differences in the relationship between perceived injunctive norms and consequences across the eight student groups of varying specificity, thus all eight levels were combined into one variable of perceived student injunctive norms. However, the relationship between this variable and consequences was weaker than the perceived attitudes of more proximal referents (parents, close friends, as well as their own personal attitudes). Subsequent analyses predicting consequences while controlling for demographic variables and drinking level, revealed that perceived injunctive norms for students, parents, and close friends as well as personal attitudes each significantly predicted consequences. Results suggest an important role for perceived injunctive norms in the experiencing of consequences over and above the amount of consumption and point to types of injunctive norms feedback that might form effective interventions (i.e., incorporating close friend and parent feedback as well as general student feedback).

Smoking outcome expectancies mediate the association between sensation seeking, peer smoking, and smoking among young adolescents

BACKGROUND

Sensation seeking is a strong correlate of smoking among adolescents, yet the research on mediators of this association is not well established. The proposed model of the present study includes antecedent variables (sensation seeking), mediators (perceived peer smoking, outcome expectancies including negative consequences, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and appetite-and-weight control), and one outcome variable (smoking cigarettes during the past 30 days).

METHODS

Self-reported data obtained from Hungarian high-school students (ninth grade, N = 2,565, mean age 15.3 years, SD = 0.56) were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Before testing of the main model, the construct validity of mediators (outcome expectancy scales) was supported with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling. The final model was tested with structural equation modeling, and the goodness-of-fit indices and the proportion of direct and indirect effects were analyzed.

RESULTS

Our mediational model had an excellent model fit, and this study supported both the proposed sensation seeking-->positive and negative reinforcement-->smoking behavior pathways and sensation seeking-->perceived peer smoking-->positive and negative reinforcement-->smoking behavior pathways. The total indirect effect explains 76% of sensation seeking and smoking association. Results support the notion that positive and negative reinforcement expectancies mediate between sensation seeking and smoking.

DISCUSSION

Results support the notion that perceived peer smoking, positive and negative reinforcement expectancies mediate between sensation seeking and smoking.

Childhood predictors of adolescent marijuana use: early sensation-seeking, deviant peer affiliation, and social images

This study examined psychosocial mechanisms by which children's early sensation-seeking may influence their later marijuana use. In a longitudinal study, 4th and 5th grade elementary school children (N=420) were followed until they were in 11th and 12th grades in high school with annual or biennial assessments. Sensation-seeking (assessed over the first 4 assessments) predicted affiliating with deviant peers and level of favorable social images of kids who use marijuana (both assessed over the subsequent 3 assessments). Affiliation with deviant peers and the growth in social images predicted marijuana use in 11th and 12th grades. Affiliation with deviant peers mediated the effect of early sensation-seeking on subsequent marijuana use. The theoretical and applied significance of this influence of early sensation-seeking is discussed.

Risk for marijuana-related problems among college students: an application of zero-inflated negative binomial regression

METHOD

This study examined the association between marijuana-related problems and social norms, impulsivity, and perceived use utility among 292 college students. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression was used to simultaneously predict expected nonusers as well as predict counts of reported marijuana-related problems among expected users. Gender, social norms, impulsivity, and perceived use utility were used to predict expected nonusers as well as number of marijuana-related problems among expected users.

RESULTS

Only social norms were associated with the prediction of zero-values. In contrast, only perceived use utility was associated with the prediction of number of marijuana-related problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Results generally are consistent with theories of the differential association of social-environmental and biopsychological variables with use and problems, respectively. Zero-inflated regression models are a useful strategy to examine risk behaviors with low base rates.

Expanding research on the role of alcohol consumption and related risks in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS

This article is a review of some of the major epidemiological, behavioral, biological, and integrative prevention research issues and priorities in the area of HIV/AIDS and alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol increases both the risk for infection with HIV and related illnesses and the morbidity and mortality of patients who progress to AIDS. New and improved measurement procedures have helped in assessment of the complex patterns of alcohol use, identification of intervening explanatory mechanisms for risk behaviors and contexts, and determination of intervention outcomes. Both the direct and indirect effects of alcohol misuse appear to be major contributors to both the risk for infection with HIV and the transmission of HIV/AIDS at the individual and population levels. There is increasing evidence that perhaps no level of alcohol consumption is "safe" for those who are HIV infected and receiving antiretroviral treatment. Interdisciplinary basic behavioral and biomedical research is needed to develop comprehensive culturally appropriate strategies for programs that can be effectively delivered in community contexts in the United States and abroad and that focus on the integration of our understanding of individual behaviors, high-risk group membership, biological mechanisms, and the social and physical environments that place individuals at risk for HIV infection. High-priority topics include improving adherence to antiretroviral medications, prevention of infection in young minority women in the United States, and treatment of HIV+ pregnant women who are alcohol abusers to prevent adverse fetal outcomes, which is an international focus in under-resourced settings in Africa.

Social distance, perceived drinking by peers, and alcohol use by college students

Many colleges in the United States are employing social norms marketing campaigns with the goal of reducing college students' alcohol use by correcting misperceptions about their peers' alcohol use. Although the typical message used in these campaigns describes the quantity and frequency of alcohol use by the average student on campus, many students may find such a vague comparison to others to be socially irrelevant. This study compares the relative weight of perceptions about alcohol use by distant versus proximate peers in the prediction of college students' personal drinking behavior. The results of analyzing data collected from a sample of college students at a large public northeastern university (N=276) show that, as hypothesized, perceived alcohol use by proximate peers (best friends and friends) was a stronger predictor of students' personal alcohol use than perceived alcohol use by more distant peers (such as students in general), controlling for other strong predictors of alcohol use by college students (age, gender, race, off-campus residency, and sensation-seeking tendencies). The implications of these findings for the design of more effective social norms messages are discussed.

Alkoholkonsum in der Adoleszenz - soziale und individuelle Einflussfaktoren

Zusammenfassung: Fragestellung: Der Einfluss verschiedener sozialer und individueller Faktoren auf den Alkoholkonsum Jugendlicher wurde geprüft. Methodik: Mit Hilfe einer ursprünglich 384 Probanden umfassenden, prospektiven Längsschnittstudie wurde die psychische Entwicklung von der Geburt bis zum Jugendalter untersucht. Als Variablen im Jugendalter wurden erfasst: 1) der Alkoholkonsum mit 16 Jahren, 2) die Sensitivität gegenüber der Wirkung von Alkohol, 3) Temperament, 4) der Kontakt zu Gleichaltrigen, 5) das elterliche Erziehungsverhalten und 6) psychische Auffälligkeiten. Ergebnisse: Die Mehrheit der Jugendlichen (97%) konsumierte Alkohol, 24% mindestens einmal wöchentlich. Soziale Faktoren (wie der negative Einfluss der Peers, elterliches Erziehungsverhalten) und individuelle Faktoren (wie die Sensitivität gegenüber der Wirkung von Alkohol, Temperamentsmerkmale und psychische Auffälligkeiten) sagten die Menge des monatlich konsumierten Alkohols im Alter von 16 Jahren voraus. Schlussfolgerungen: Gefährdete Jugendliche sollten frühzeitig identifiziert werden. Zur Prävention eignen sich Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der Eltern, Verringerung des Kontakts zu sozial auffälligen Jugendlichen und ein Training zur Verbesserung der Körperwahrnehmung und Alkoholsensitivität.

Sensation seeking and adolescent drug use: the mediating role of association with deviant peers and pro-drug discussions

In this study, I examined direct and indirect influences of sensation seeking, a personality trait, on adolescent drug use. I hypothesized that some or even most of the contribution of sensation seeking to drug use by adolescents is mediated through association with deviant peers and communication with peers that is favorable toward drug use. I examined the role of additional risk or protective factors in facilitating or impeding association with deviant peers, pro-drug communication, and marijuana use as well. The results of analyzing nationally representative cross-sectional data from the evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign support the study's hypotheses and suggest that different factors may protect high sensation-seeking adolescents from using drugs or engaging in activities (e.g., association with deviant peers) that may increase their risk for drug use. I discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these findings to the design of health communication interventions.

Prevalence and predictors of "heavy" marijuana use in a Canadian youth sample

In this investigation, secondary analyses were performed on an extensive database for 473 biological and 128 adoptive families. These data, which were gathered as part of the Vancouver Family Survey, were used to examine the prevalence and predictors of "heavy" marijuana use in a Canadian youth sample aged 14-25. Results in this study showed that 12.6% of the sample reported using marijuana once a week or more. These respondents were categorized as "heavy" marijuana users. Higher levels of life problems were associated with this use pattern. Results from a series of regression analyses suggested that the family, personality, and peer domains all contributed significantly in predicting "heavy" marijuana use. Father's alcoholism and peer illicit drug use had direct relationships with heavy marijuana use in this final model. A possible mediated pathway was also suggested with the Addiction Prone Personality influencing use through its relationship with heavier peer drug use.

Are educational aspirations associated with the risk of alcohol use and alcohol use-related problems among adolescents?

OBJECTIVE

Using prospective data, we hypothesized that public middle school students with high educational aspirations would report less alcohol use, and alcohol use-related problems in the subsequent year.

METHODS

The participants for these analyses included students, ages 11 to 14 years old, participating in a longitudinal study in an urban sample of public schools (n = 1229). As part of the prospective annual assessments of the students, in 1992 (to) and 1993 (t1), data on educational aspirations and on alcohol use, and alcohol use-related problems were gathered. Latent variable modeling was used to assess the relationship between educational aspirations at baseline (to) and subsequent year drinking behavior (t1) in two separate models, one to examine the relationship of educational aspirations with self-reported alcohol use (model 1), and another to examine the association with alcohol use-related problems (model 2). Potential confounding by age, sex, race-ethnicity, alcohol use by peers, self-reported school performance, and neighborhood environment was held constant in each model. In addition, each model took into account the prior year report of alcohol use and alcohol use-related problems, respectively.

RESULTS

The evidence indicated that students with high aspirations were no more nor less likely to report subsequent alcohol use [beta = 0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.19, 0.49; p = 0.38] nor alcohol use-related problems (beta = -0.009, CI = -0.07, 0.06; p = 0.80). Other characteristics were associated with alcohol use at follow-up and included race-ethnicity (being non-Black), neighborhood environment, and having friends who drink alcohol. Characteristics associated with alcohol use-related problems at the time of the follow-up interview also included race-ethnicity, peer drinking, neighborhood environment, as well as older age.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from the current study do not support the hypothesis that educational aspirations have significant influences on alcohol consumption or drinking problems in this study population of urban, predominantly Black students. As such, this work helps to advance our understanding of suspected relationships between educational aspirations, as well as factors associated with resilience to alcohol use and the occurrence of alcohol use-related problems.

Using social networks to understand and prevent substance use: a transdisciplinary perspective

We review findings from research on smoking, alcohol, and other drug use, which show that the network approaCh is instructive for understanding social influences on substance use. A hypothetical network is used throughout to illustrate different network findings and provide a short glossary of terms. We then describe how network analysis can be used to design more effective prevention programs and to monitor and evaluate these programs. The article closes with a discussion of the inherent transdisciplinarity of social network analysis.

Longitudinal effects of age at onset and first drinking situations on problem drinking

The purpose of this study was to describe aspects of the first alcohol-use experience, and examine the predictive relations among age of first use, context of alcohol use initiation, and problem drinking with and without controls for psychosocial risk factors. Data were from the Rutgers Health and Human Development Project, a five-wave, prospective study of substance-use behaviors in a community sample. Respondents, who were first interviewed at age 12 (1979-81) and most recently at age 30 or 31 (1999-2000) (N=371), reported on their first drinking experience, and on a range of known risk factors for alcohol abuse. Most alcohol initiation occurred during a family gathering. Regardless of initiation context, youth who drank at an early age were more likely than youth who initiated later to become problem drinkers, although the risk was relatively greater for the youth who first drank outside a family gathering. Based on multivariate logistic regressions, feeling drunk at initiation was the only onset-related variable significantly associated with problem drinking; other significant risks factors included male gender, delinquency, and family history of alcoholism. Because most initiation occurs at a family gathering, alcoholism prevention research may benefit from examining the role that drinking in family contexts could play with regard to socializing young drinkers to less risky drinking behaviors in adulthood. In particular, further research focusing on the subjective effects experienced by youth when they first drink may be merited.

Differential Prediction of Alcohol Use and Problems: The Role of Biopsychological and Social‐Environmental Variables

This study examined the differential prediction of alcohol use and problems by biopsychological (i.e., affective and cognitive variables) and social-environmental (i.e., social norms) variables. Undergraduate students (N = 231) were assessed twice separated by a 30-day interval. Time 1 impulsivity, affect lability, social norms, and perceived conflict between personal strivings and alcohol use were each significant predictors of alcohol use-related problems at Time 2 (T2). Structural equation models indicated that impulsivity and affect lability were related directly with use-related problems, while social norms and use-strivings conflict were related indirectly with use-related problems (mediated by use frequency). Impulsivity moderated the T2 use to use-related problems relationship. Use frequency was associated more strongly with use-related problems among more impulsive participants.

Sensation-seeking as a moderator of the effects of peer influences, consistency with personal aspirations, and perceived harm on marijuana and cigarette use among younger adolescents

Concurrent effects of peer influence and protective cognitive variables on marijuana and cigarette use are hypothesized to be contingent on adolescent sensation-seeking. The hypothesis was tested in 1999-2000 using a survey given to eighth graders (N=3127) in 20 U.S. middle schools. Results largely supported the hypothesis that peer pressure and perceived peer marijuana use had only a relatively trivial effect on low sensation-seekers and a much greater effect on high sensation-seekers. In addition, aspirations inconsistent with marijuana use appeared protective for high sensation-seekers.

Factors associated with heroin addiction among male adults in Lahore, Pakistan

The objective of this matched case control study was to evaluate the factors associated with heroin addiction among male heroin addicts of age 15 to 35 years in Lahore. A total of 233 heroin addicts, matched on neighborhood controls, were enrolled at a case control ratio of 1:2. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis was carried out to study the independent relationship of hypothesized factors with heroin addiction. The factors associated with heroin addiction were parental disharmony (i.e. occasional fights versus no fights: adjusted matched odds ratio (adj. mOR) = 4.3, 95% CI: 2.4-7.8; frequent fights versus no fights: adj. mOR = 6.0, 95% CI: 2.8-16.6), drug using peers (adj. mOR = 5.6, 95% CI, 2.6-12.1), alcohol use (adj. mOR = 4.2, 95% CI, 2.3-7.6). use of over the counter available drugs (adj. mOR = 4.1, 95% CI, 1.8-10.6), father's absence (adj. mOR = 2.9, 95% CI, 1.6-5.5), non-formal schooling of the mother (adj. mOR = 2.8, 95% CI, 1.7-4.7), non-formal schooling of the respondent (adj. mOR = 2.4, 95% CI, 1.5-3.8), and the presence of a drug user among similar age group family members (adj. mOR = 2.4, 95% CI, 1.3-4.8). It is recommended that public health strategies be formulated based on various facets of the problem revealed by this and previous research to prevent illicit drug use.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ATTRIBUTION STATES: THE COVALENT SECURITY ATTRIBUTION MODEL

The attribution of the causality regarding the quality of life in a community and the security within a community differs between user and non-user groups of illegal drugs. An attribution theoretical model based on intergroup relations presents a new conceptualization of dyadic relations as the Covalent Security Attribution model. The Covalent Security Attribution model of user and non-user intergroup dynamics provides an exegesis of group cognitive consistency and the attribution process. This inquiry provides a heuristic examination of the Covalent Security Attribution model of adolescent substance abuse.

Primary socialization theory. Developmental stages, spirituality, government institutions, sensation seeking, and theoretical implications. V

This fifth and final paper in the series on primary socialization theory includes discussion of issues raised by participants in a forum on the theory. The theory states that drug use and deviant behaviors occur as an outcome of bonding with primary socialization sources and the transmission of norms through those sources. Personal traits and secondary socialization sources influence drug use and deviance indirectly and through their effects on the primary socialization process. Developmentally, the only primary socialization source for the preschool child is the family. In early grade school years, the primary socialization sources are the family and school. Peer clusters emerge as a primary socialization source later, with their greatest effect occurring during adolescence. Adults have varied primary socialization patterns. Levels of ego development among adults may alter the primary socialization process. Spirituality is defined, and its influence on drug use is discussed. Government institutions, such as the criminal justice system, welfare, and child protective services, are now included among secondary socialization sources. The fact that the general theory of primary socialization is not ethnocentric or temporocentric is discussed. Implications of the theory for understanding existing or potential risk and protective factors for deviance, and for improving the effectiveness of prevention and treatment are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]