Sensation seeking and drug use by adolescents and their friends: models for marijuana and alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prospective influence of individual adolescents' sensation seeking tendency and the sensation seeking tendency of named peers on the use of alcohol and marijuana, controlling for a variety of interpersonal and attitudinal risk and protective factors. METHOD: Data were collected from a cohort of adolescents (N = 428; 60% female) at three points in time, starting in the eighth grade. Respondents provided information about sensation seeking, the positivity of family relations, attitudes toward alcohol and drug use, perceptions of their friends' use of alcohol and marijuana, perceptions of influence by their friends to use alcohol and marijuana, and their own use of alcohol and marijuana. In addition, they named up to three peers, whose sensation seeking and use data were integrated with respondents' data to allow for tests of hypotheses about peer clustering and substance use. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling analyses revealed direct effects of peers' sensation seeking on adolescents' own use of both marijuana and alcohol 2 years later. An unexpected finding was that the individual's own sensation seeking had indirect (not direct) effects on drug use 2 years later. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the potential importance of sensation seeking as a characteristic on which adolescent peers cluster. Furthermore, the findings indicate that, beyond the influence of a variety of other risk factors, peer sensation seeking contributes to adolescents' substance use.

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

This article draws on recent work in sensation seeking and peer influences in drug use prevention and considers some possible implications for primary socialization theory. A particular point of focus is a postulate of the theory that an individual's personal characteristics and personality traits do not directly relate to drug use and deviance but ordinarily influence those outcomes only when they affect interactions between the individual and the primary socialization sources. The article suggests a more broadly encompassing perspective which holds that socialization learning through the primary socialization sources gives people's lives direction; it may be the tugs of activation needs which provide impetus for the actions. The authors cite a recent study in which they developed a structural equation model of influence of individual and peer variables on later alcohol and marijuana use. The model indicates an indirect route from individual sensation seeking through peers to drug and alcohol use, with adolescents picking persons of similar sensation-seeking levels, and the sensation-seeking level of these peers tending to influence alcohol and marijuana use. Although previous studies have suggested causal relationships between sensation seeking and drug use and between peer influence and drug use, the findings in this study suggest that the actual process involves both. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

The prevalence of victimization and its effect on mental well-being among lesbian and gay people.

Research on victimization among oppressed groups such as lesbian and gay people has provided limited insight into its impact on the lives of those who are frequently targeted. This is due in part to small sample sizes and the absence of significant variables known to influence mental well-being. This analysis examines the prevalence and effects of victimization on a large sample (N = 1067) of lesbians and gay men living in a southern state. Multiple regression is used to determine the psychological consequences of victimization as measured by depression. Additional factors thought to contribute, either positively or negatively, to the effect of victimization on mental well-being, i.e., social support, self-esteem, external stress, and internalized homophobia, are also included in the analysis. Results indicate that victimization has a significant positive effect on depression for both lesbians and gay men when controlling for other variables. Self-esteem was found to be the strongest predictor of depression for the entire sample. Social support was found to have a similar effect for lesbians and gay men with partner support and having no support being significant. Gender differences were found for measures of external stress, internalized homophobia, and age.

Drug and alcohol use among lesbian and gay people in a southern U.S. sample: epidemiological, comparative, and methodological findings from the Trilogy Project.

The Trilogy Project is a longitudinal study of lesbian and gay people living in and around two metropolitan areas in a southern state. The study was specifically designed to provide (1) epidemiological data on the lifetime, past year, and past month prevalence rates for the use of 6 illicit, 4 psychotherapeutic, and 2 licit drugs, and (2) comparative data to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Self-report data were collected on 1067 respondents using multiple sampling strategies and a research design that yielded response rates averaging over 50%. Results indicated some age group differences in the prevalence of certain drugs by gay men compared to lesbians. When comparisons were made to the NHSDA, Trilogy Project respondents were found to have significantly higher prevalence rates for the past year use of marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol but not cocaine. While lesbian and gay people drink alcohol more frequently during the month than NHSDA respondents, few differences occurred between the two samples for heavy alcohol consumption. Research questions suggested by the data and theoretical directions for future research are discussed.

The prevalence and demographic predictors of illicit and licit drug use among lesbians and gay men.

Studies on illicit and licit drug use among homosexuals of both sexes have focused primarily on gay men, used limited drug measures, and been conducted in cities known for large homosexual populations. This paper examines (1) the prevalence of 12 illicit and licit drugs by sex and age group and (2) the demographic predictors of past-year frequency of marijuana, alcohol, and cigarette use. Organizational mailing lists were used to collect self-report data on 455 homosexuals living in a southern state. Differences were found between gay men and lesbians in the use of specific substances and in the demographic predictors of drug use.

A social bonding-drug progression model of amphetamine use among young women.

Social bonding theory explains less serious drug use better than use of hard drugs. The difference in prediction may be due to the omission of intervening variables between the bond and serious drug use, such as experience with minor drugs. In this study the impact of the social bond on amphetamine use is examined among a national sample of high school senior women. Included in the model is the notion of drug progression, in which individuals first use minor drugs and progress to illicit drugs. To ascertain whether the bond is mediated through use of less serious drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana are utilized in the analysis. Among the bonding variables, religious commitment has the only significant direct effect on amphetamines. Overall, elements of the bond explain less variance in amphetamines than in cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Combining drug progression with social bonding theory substantially increases the explained variance of amphetamines.

Social disaffection, friendship patterns and adolescent cigarette use: the Muscatine Study.

This study was undertaken to determine if adolescent social disaffection with school and family not only would be a significant predictor of cigarette use but would explain a significant amount of the association with friends who smoke. Eleven hundred and eighty ninth-12th grade students in Muscatine, Iowa, were surveyed in Spring 1984. Multiple regression analyses indicated several social disaffection variables were significant predictors of association with friends who smoke, explaining 20% of the variance. The combination of association with friends who smoke and social disaffection variables explained 48% of the variance in adolescent cigarette smoking. Variables related to adolescents' participation in school and related activities suggest prevention programs should recognize the impact of social disaffection on adolescents cigarette use.

Social influences and constraints on the initiation and cessation of adolescent tobacco use.

This research examines the viability of a theoretical perspective which combines social bonding theory and differential association theory in explaining the initiation and cessation of adolescent tobacco use. Three-year panel data collected from seventh- to twelfth-grade adolescents were analyzed using differences in means tests and discriminant analysis. The findings indicate overall support for the theoretical model in discriminating between (1) initiators and stable nonsmokers and (2) cessators and stable smokers. However, there were some differences in the variables found to be important at each stage of adolescent smoking. Commitment to education, attachment to father and mother, and association with female smoking friends were the most effective discriminators for the initiation stage, while attachment to father, beliefs, and association with both male and female smoking friends were important for the cessation stage. Findings are also discussed for males and females and for junior and senior high-school adolescents.

Thermal impact evaluation for brunner Island steam electric station: Toward a more realistic assessment.

A realistic approach to thermal impact assessment is presented which employs a two-dimensional thermal plume model, a large data base for river flow and temperature, and accounts for nonuniform spatial distribution of habitats and seasonal differences in fish behavior. The end result portrays real effects of the thermal impact rather than an artificially constructed 'worst-case' scenario.