Understanding early-onset drug and alcohol outcomes among youth: the role of family structure, social factors, and interpersonal perceptions of use

Research on adolescents focuses increasingly on features of the family in predicting and preventing illicit substance use. Multivariate analyses of data from the National Survey of Parents and Youth (N=4173) revealed numerous significant differences on risk variables associated with family structure on adolescent drug-related perceptions and substance use. Youth from dual-parent households were least likely to use drugs and were monitored more closely than single-parent youth (p<0.001). A path analytic model estimated to illuminate linkages among theoretically implicated variables revealed that family income and child's gender (p<0.001), along with family structure (p<0.05), affected parental monitoring, but not parental warmth. Monitoring and warmth, in turn, predicted adolescents' social and interpersonal perceptions of drug use (p<0.001), and both variables anticipated adolescents' actual drug use one year later (p<0.001). Results reconfirm the importance of parental monitoring and warmth and demonstrate the link between these variables, adolescents' social and intrapersonal beliefs, and their use of illicit substances.     

Childhood conduct problems,attention deficit behaviors,and adolescent alcohol,tobacco, and illicit drug use

The relationships between conduct problems and attention deficit behaviors at age 8 years and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs at 15 years were studied in a birth cohort of over 900 New Zealand children. The analysis showed that while early conduct problems were significantly associated with later substance use there were no significant associations between early attention deficit behaviors and later substance use once the correlations between conduct problems and attention deficit behaviors were taken into account. These associations persisted after control for a range of potentially confounding covariates. Children who showed tendencies to conduct problems at age 8 consumed 1.5 to 1.9 times more alcohol and had rates of alcohol-related problems, daily cigarette smoking, and illicit drug use that were 1.9 to 2.0 times higher than children with low conduct problem scores. It is concluded that attention deficit behaviors, in the absence of conduct problems, are not associated with later substance use. However, even when due allowance is made for social and contextual factors associated with both early conduct problems and later substance use, early conduct problems are a risk factor for later substance use.This research was funded by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the National Child Health Research foundation.     

Determinants of Property Crime Among Illicit Opiate Users Outside of Treatment Across Canada

Criminal activities account for a major proportion of the social costs related to illicit drug use. This article examines the factors contributing to property crime activity among a community sample of 653 untreated regular illicit opiate users in 5 Canadian cities (OPICAN study). Multivariate analyses showed the frequency of heroin, cocaine, and crack use, gender, housing status, and past criminal justice involvement as predictors of property crime. Furthermore, crack use had a significantly different impact on property crime depending on housing status and city. These findings underline the need for targeted intervention efforts toward a reduced crime burden.     

Illicit Drug Use,Cognitive Distortions,and Suicidal Ideation Among Homeless Youth: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Illicit drug use and cognitive distortions confer significant risks to youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, there has been limited evidence regarding the efficacy of suicide prevention interventions with homeless youth, especially studies testing whether such interventions can reduce the risk for suicidal ideation associated with illicit drug use. Suicidal homeless youth (N = 150) between the ages of 18 to 24 years were recruited from a drop-in center. Youth were randomly assigned to Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CTSP) + Treatment as Usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Youth reported their illicit drug use, cognitive distortions, and suicidal ideation 4 times over 9 months. A multiple-group multilevel structural equation model showed that higher illicit drug use at baseline predicted a slower reduction in cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation in the TAU group. These associations were not found in the CTSP + TAU group, suggesting an interruption of such risk from illicit drug use. Findings suggest that CTSP can reduce the risk of illicit drug use as a treatment barrier towards cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation among homeless youth, with implications to improve treatment efforts and to reduce premature mortality in a vulnerable population.     

Illicit drug use and risky sexual behavior among African American and Puerto Rican urban adolescents: the longitudinal links

The authors assessed whether (a) early illicit drug use predicted later risky sexual activity, (b) early risky sex predicted later illicit drug use, and (c) common factors affected both risky sexual behavior and illicit drug use. African American and Puerto Rican youth completed questionnaires in their classrooms at Time 1 (T1) and face-to-face interviews with the authors in their homes 5 years later at Time 2 (T2). Logistic regression analyses showed the association between T1 illicit drug use and T2 risky sexual activity and between T1 risky sexual behavior and T2 illicit drug use. With few exceptions, T1 illicit drug use was associated with all of the T2 risky sexual behaviors. After controlling for demographic factors, the authors found that multiple sex partners at T1 was not related to illicit drug use at T2. Condom use at T1 was related to illicit drug use at T2, whereas sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy were not related to this drug use. The findings indicated that assessments of and treatments for substance use should focus on the risky sexual behaviors that seem to accompany illicit drug use.     

Strain and Depression following Release from Prison: The Moderating Role of Social Support Mechanisms on Substance Use

ABSTRACT

Research on prison reentry shows that individuals with depression turn to substances to cope with the stress of reintegration. While social support drawn from families, peers, and institutions may help returning individuals avoid substance use, it is unclear how social support might condition the link between depression and substance use. Using longitudinal panel data from the Serious and Violent and Offender Reentry Initiative, results from mixed-models demonstrate that depression is significantly associated with increased substance use. Family support, but not peer support, is tied to lower use, and institutional support relates to decreased alcohol use but increased illicit drug use.     

Emotional health predictors of substance use initiation during middle school

This study aimed to evaluate whether emotional health factors, including anxiety and depression, stress, and social support, are associated with earlier youth initiation of alcohol and illicit substances during middle school (from the sixth to the eighth grade). Data for this study were from the Developmental Pathways Project, a longitudinal study of 521 youth sampled from the Seattle Public Schools. Discrete time survival analyses were used to assess the effects of depression, anxiety, stress, and support on initiation of substance use, measured every 6 months at five time points between sixth and eighth grade. Youth who had initiated prior to sixth grade had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. In multivariate survival analyses controlling for child race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, and accounting for conduct problems, youth who reported higher levels of separation anxiety/panic symptoms were at decreased risk for early alcohol initiation. Children with higher levels of perceived teacher support had a significantly lower risk of alcohol initiation during early follow-up periods. Recent stressful life events in Grade 6 were associated with significantly greater risk of initiating an illicit substance by Grade 8. The current findings highlight the role of stress in the initiation of illicit substance use and suggest that teacher support is associated with lower risk for very early alcohol use. Future research examining anxiety as a predictor of substance use should distinguish between subtypes of anxiety.     

Adolescent precursors of intensity of marijuana and other illicit drug use among adult initiators

This study examined (a) adolescent psychosocial risk factors for frequency (intensity) of marijuana use and for other illicit drug use among those who started using these drugs in early adulthood (adult initiators) and (b) the protective role of parent-adolescent relations in reducing or preventing drug use when adolescents enter early adulthood. The study's participants were male and female youth from a longitudinal prospective study. The participants' mean ages were 17 and 22 years at late adolescence and early adulthood, respectively. Independent measures assessed personality, parental, peer, and self-drug-use factors during late adolescence; dependent measures assessed frequency of marijuana use and other illicit drug use during early adulthood for initiators of the respective drug categories. The authors found that intensity of marijuana use was directly associated with the personality, parental, and self-drug-use domains and indirectly associated with the peer domain. Intensity of other illicit drug use was directly associated with personality and self-drug use. Analyses also revealed that some parent-adolescent relations factors buffered the effects of risk factors for both marijuana and other illicit drug-use intensity, whereas others enhanced the effects of protective factors against other illicit drug-use intensity. The results indicate that there are both commonalities and differences in precursors of marijuana and other illicit drug-use intensity among initiators of these drugs during early adulthood.     

Illicit drug-related psychopharmacological violence: The current understanding within a causal context

This study reviews past research on psychopharmacological violence associated with illicit drug use within the criteria for causality. There appears to be prior evidence suggesting that illicit drug use and violent offending are related in certain circumstances; and other studies conclude that illicit drug use may be correlated with violent victimization. However, those studies that also adequately assessed temporal order do not strongly support an offender-based psychopharmacological link; and those that explored violent victimization are limited and inconclusive. More importantly, there are very few criminological efforts that assess the impact of illicit drug use on violence while also controlling for alternative individual-level causal explanations such as hormonal influences, genetic factors, variations in substance metabolism rates and intoxication decay, psychological functioning, concurrent alcohol and/or other drug use, gender differences, and illicit drug dosage. We offer suggestions for improving future assessments of illicit drug-related violent offending and victimization including capturing dosage and purity data, gauging temporal proximity of offender and victim intoxication relative to violent outcomes, and separating psychopharmacological factors (e.g., offender motivation and victim vulnerability) from economic and systemic circumstances.     

Adolescent Precursors of Intensity of Marijuana and Other Illicit Drug Use Among Adult Initiators

This study examined (a) adolescent psychosocial risk factors for frequency (intensity) of marijuana use and for other illicit drug use among those who started using these drugs in early adulthood (adult initiators) and (b) the protective role of parent-adolescent relations in reducing or preventing drug use when adolescents enter early adulthood. The study's participants were male and female youth from a longitudinal prospective study. The participants' mean ages were 17 and 22 years at late adolescence and early adulthood, respectively. Independent measures assessed personality, parental, peer, and self-drug-use factors during late adolescence; dependent measures assessed frequency of marijuana use and other illicit drug use during early adulthood for initiators of the respective drug categories. The authors found that intensity of marijuana use was directly associated with the personality, parental, and self-drug-use domains and indirectly associated with the peer domain. Intensity of other illicit drug use was directly associated with personality and self-drug use. Analyses also revealed that some parent-adolescent relations factors buffered the effects of risk factors for both marijuana and other illicit drug-use intensity, whereas others enhanced the effects of protective factors against other illicit drug-use intensity. The results indicate that there are both commonalities and differences in precursors of marijuana and other illicit drug-use intensity among initiators of these drugs during early adulthood.     

Psychological factors and adolescent illicit drug use: ethnicity and sex differences

Of four psychological factors examined in a representative sample of New York State secondary school students, only two, depressive mood and normlessness, show a positive relationship with the use of illicit drugs, especially drugs other than marihuana. The association of depressive mood and normlessness with illegal multiple drug use varies by ethnicity and sex, being consistently stronger among girls and among whites. In addition, depressive mood is negatively related to multiple drug use for black and Puerto Rican boys. These findings suggest that psychological factors play a different role in adolescent drug involvement within various social and cultural groups.     

A Study of Some Factors Involved in Place Learning

Through the technique of Goodman's log linear method, longitudinal data are analyzed to clarify the relationship between depressive mood and illicit drug use among youths. A representative sample of adolescents (N = 8206) from New York State secondary schools was followed over one academic year. At one point in time, users of illicit drugs other than marihuana (multiple drug users) were significantly more depressed than either nonusers or users of marihuana only. Differing interactive relationships were found over time depending upon the drugs involved. Depressive mood was related to the onset of marihuana use among nonusers and to the termination of marihuana use among users. Depressive mood also predicted the use of other illicit drugs by marihuana users. While the beginning use of illicit drugs other than marihuana was positively associated with increased depressive mood, continued multiple drug use was related to reduced depressive mood.     

Rule-Making and Rule-Breaking: Strip Club Social Control Regarding Alcohol and Other Drugs

Through fieldwork and interviews, this research addresses internal and external social control of drug and alcohol use in “Mell's Belles,” a strip club in a working-class northeastern city. I describe a variety of internal social control techniques used to regulate alcohol and illicit drugs, and then note the impact of external social control on the strip club, including police raids and general surveillance. Strip clubs have an unpredictable, laissez faire approach to rule enforcement, enforcing rules only when necessary. External social control uses legal power to infiltrate Mell's Belles over petty ordinance breaches, and ultimately, drugs. As an underclass population engaged in deviant work, strippers and patrons are unequipped to contend with surveillance regimes.     

The Army National Guard in OIF/OEF: Relationships among combat exposure,postdeployment stressors,social support,and risk behaviors

With the continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, studies of the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and related symptoms are now common. However, lacking is how these symptoms relate to precipitating conditions and the mitigating effects of social support on these symptoms. This is particularly relevant for reserve military personnel, who have been shown to be greater at-risk for postdeployment problems. The present study examined questionnaire data obtained from Army National Guard (ARNG) units immediately after their return from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan during 2010 (N = 4329 soldiers in 50 units). Findings showed few soldiers displayed risk behaviors (i.e., daily alcohol use, use of illicit drugs, suicide thoughts, and physically threatening others) during and after deployment. Those most likely to have more postdeployment risk behaviors were also those who showed more risk behaviors during deployment. A substantial percentage of soldiers reported combat exposure, postdeployment negative emotions, and postdeployment loss of a personal relationship. These reported outcomes were all related to increased risk behaviors after deployment. The buffering effect of social support on postdeployment risk behaviors was equally evident when data were examined individually and when grouped by unit memberships. Implications of findings for future research, practice, and policies are discussed.     

Social dominance mediates the association of testosterone and neurobehavioral disinhibition with risk for substance use disorder.

This investigation determined the influence of testosterone and neurobehavioral disinhibition (ND) on risk for substance use disorder (SUD). Testosterone level during puberty was hypothesized to promote social dominance associated with norm-violating behavior that, in turn, predisposes individuals to use of illicit drugs and, subsequently, SUD. Using a prospective paradigm, the authors recruited 179 boys (mean age=11.62 years, SD=0.88) and followed up when participants were ages 12-14, 16, 19, and 22. Results indicated that social dominance/norm-violating behavior (SD/NVB) at age 16 mediated the association between testosterone level (ages 12-14) and SUD (age 22). In addition, SD/NVB mediated the association between ND and SUD. These findings suggest that development of SUD is influenced by androgen-dependent and neurobehavioral processes via a social motivational style characterized by SD/NVB.     

Developmental associations between externalizing behaviors, peer delinquency, drug use, perceived neighborhood crime, and violent behavior in urban communities

This study examines the precursors of violent behavior among urban, racial/ethnic minority adults. Data are from an on-going study of male and female African Americans and Puerto Ricans, interviewed at four time waves, Time 1-Time 4 (T1-T4), from adolescence to adulthood. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the developmental pathways, beginning in mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years), to violent behavior in adulthood (T4; age = 29.2 years). The variables assessed were: components of externalizing behaviors (i.e., rebelliousness, delinquency; T1, T3); illicit drug use (T2); peer delinquency (T2); perceived neighborhood crime (T4); and violent behavior (T3, T4). Results showed that the participants' externalizing behaviors (rebelliousness and delinquency) were relatively stable from mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years) to early adulthood (T3; age = 24.4 years). The participants' externalizing behaviors in mid-adolescence also had a direct pathway to peer delinquency in late adolescence (T2; age = 19.1 years). Peer delinquency, in turn, had a direct pathway to the participants' illicit drug use in late adolescence (T2), and to externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3). The participants' illicit drug use (T2; age = 19.1 years) had both direct and indirect paths to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The participants' externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3) were linked with violent behavior at T3, and perceived neighborhood crime (T4), both of which had direct pathways to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The findings suggest developmental periods during which externalizing behaviors, exposure to delinquent peers, illegal drug use, and neighborhood crime could be targeted by prevention and intervention programs in order to reduce violent behavior.     

Are work stressors related to employee substance use? The importance of temporal context assessments of alcohol and illicit drug use

In this study, the author explored the relations of 2 work stressors (work overload and job insecurity) to employee alcohol use and illicit drug use. The primary goal was to explore the importance of temporal context (before work, during the workday, and after work) in the assessment of substance use compared with context-free (overall) assessments. Data were collected from a national sample of U.S. workers (N = 2,790) who took part in a broad cross-sectional survey on workplace health and safety. Consistent with past research, the results fail to support a relation between work stressors and overall measures of alcohol and illicit drug use. However, the results support the relation of work stressors to alcohol and illicit drug use before work, during the workday, and after work. These results provide support for both the stress-induced substance use and stress response dampening propositions of the tension-reduction hypothesis. When exploring the work environment as a potential cause of employee substance use, these results underscore the importance of measures that assess alcohol and illicit drug use in terms of their temporal relation to the workday.     

Neighborhood and Individual Factors in Marijuana and Other Illicit Drug Use in a Sample of Low-income Women

Few studies have systematically evaluated whether contextual variables differ in their ability to explain the use of different drugs in the same sample. Our objective was to examine correlates of use for different illicit drugs at the individual and neighborhood level in a tri-ethnic sample of low-income women, an underrepresented sample in drug research. Women 18–31 were recruited from a low-cost family planning clinic in southeast Texas from December 2001 to May 2003. Neighborhood level indicators of disadvantage, family structure, and nativity status from U.S. Census 2000 were linked with individual survey data. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the effect of individual and neighborhood level measures on lifetime use of marijuana only and of other illicit drugs in 594 women. Only individual level variables (younger age, non-Hispanic White ethnicity, not being married, greater peer acceptance of substance use) increased odds of exclusive marijuana use, controlling for neighborhood level factors. However, both neighborhood and individual level variables significantly predicted other illicit drug use. Residence in less disadvantaged neighborhoods, non-Hispanic White ethnicity, higher levels of education, greater acceptance of substance use by peers, and a larger number of perceived neighborhood problems increased odds of illicit drug use. Use of other illicit drugs with or without marijuana may be more closely tied to area level factors whereas factors driving exclusive marijuana use may not rely on localized structures to the same extent. Thus, community-level interventions may need to customize their approaches according to the type of drug use targeted. The implication of using neighborhood level variables in substance use research is also discussed.     

Prevalence and distribution of illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace: findings and implications from a U.S. national survey

This U.S. national study explored the overall prevalence, frequency, and distribution of illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace during the preceding 12 months. Illicit drug use in the workforce involved an estimated 14.1% of employed adults (17.7 million workers). Illicit drug use in the workplace involved an estimated 3.1% of employed adults (3.9 million workers). Illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace is not distributed uniformly in the employed population. At-risk, though circumscribed, segments of the U.S. workforce were identified with prevalence rates up to 55.8% for any use of illicit drugs and up to 28.0% for illicit drug use in the workplace. The implications of these data for future theoretical research and for management policy and practice are discussed.