Drug use in middle school: Assessing attitudinal and behavioral predictors
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Abstract
Generally speaking, theories of adolescent drug use emphasize either attitudinal variables, such as self-esteem or self-control, or behavioral variables, such as interactions with delinquent peers. This research uses variables such as self-esteem, impulsiveness, parental attachment, commitment to education, and peer drug use to predict adolescent substance usc. The analysis is conducted on a sample of 312 middle-school children from South Carolina. Results indicate that while attitudinal variables are important for predicting use, behavioral variables are superior predictors of adolescent drug use. Involvement in non-drug related crimes, associating with drug-using peers, and involvement in a recreational routine activity pattern, all behavioral variables, were the best predictors of adolescent drug use. Attachment was the best attitudinal predictor of drug use.
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This research implies that dynamic models are needed to adequately explain the variation in adolescent drug usc, Researchers and theorists are reminded that recreational drug use among adolescents is often a behavior that conforms to sub-group norms and not simply behavior that deviates from the dominant culture's norms.