ABSTRACT
The authors tested hypothesized pathways from religiosity to adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) with data from samples of middle school (n = 1,273) and high school students (n = 812). Confirmatory analysis of measures of religiosity supported a 2-factor solution with behavioral aspects (belonging, attendance) and personal aspects (importance, value, spirituality, forgiveness) as distinct factors. Structural modeling analyses indicated inverse indirect effects of personal religiosity on substance use, mediated through more good self-control and less tolerance for deviance. Religiosity was correlated with fewer deviant peer affiliations and nonendorsement of coping motives for substance use but did not have direct effects on these variables. Parental support and parent-child conflict also had significant effects (with opposite direction) on substance use, mediated through self-control and deviance-prone attitudes. Implications for prevention research are discussed.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Religion , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Models, Theoretical , Parent-Child Relations , Parents , Students , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
We examined the relation of four motive dimensions to tobacco and alcohol use in samples of high school students in Hungary (N=602) and the United States (N=1,225). Rates of cigarette smoking were higher in Hungary than the US, and rates of alcohol use were comparable; boys showed higher rates of smoking in Hungary and higher rates of alcohol use in both countries. For smoking, social motives were predictive only in Hungary, while boredom relief and affect regulation were more predictive in the US. For alcohol use, social motives was the only dimension related to drinking in Hungary, whereas in the US all motive dimensions were predictive for girls' drinking, and social and affect regulation motives were predictive for boys' drinking. Gender differences in smoking and alcohol use were partially mediated through motives for use, with the specific mediators depending on the cultural context.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Motivation , Smoking/psychology , Students/psychology , Adolescent , Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Hungary , Male , Mood Disorders/psychology , Prevalence , Psychology, Adolescent , Schools , Sex Distribution , Smoking/epidemiology , Social Conformity , Social Facilitation , United StatesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To test a theoretical model of how ethnic pride and self-control are related to risk and protective factors. DESIGN: A community sample of 670 African American youth (mean age = 11.2 years) were interviewed in households. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and sexual behavior (lifetime to past month). RESULTS: Structural modeling analyses indicated parenting was related to self-control and self-esteem, and racial socialization was related to ethnic pride. Self-control and self-esteem variables were related to levels of deviance-prone attitudes and to perceptions of engagers in, or abstainers from, substance use and sexual behavior. The proximal factors (behavioral willingness, resistance efficacy, and peer behavior) had substantial relations to the criterion variables. Participant gender and parental education also had several paths in the model. Results were generally similar for the 2 outcome behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In this population, self-esteem and self-control are related to parenting approaches and have pathways to attitudes and social perceptions that are significant factors for predisposing to, or protecting against, early involvement in substance use and sexual behavior.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/ethnology , Black People/psychology , Family/psychology , Internal-External Control , Sexual Behavior , Smoking/ethnology , Social Identification , Socialization , Adolescent , Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control , Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Child , Educational Status , Female , Georgia , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Models, Statistical , Parenting/psychology , Poverty/psychology , Risk Factors , Rural Population , Smoking/psychology , Smoking Prevention , Social Adjustment , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
The authors tested how behavioral and emotional self-control are related to adolescent substance (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) use. Data were obtained from 489 middle school students and 602 high school students. Multiple indicators were developed for each domain of self-control, and confirmatory analyses were used to test the measurement structure of latent constructs. Results showed that the domains of behavioral self-control and emotional self-control were statistically distinct, and both were related to adolescent substance use. Structural modeling analyses indicated indirect effects for self-control constructs primarily through pathways to competence and recent events. In addition, poor behavioral control had a direct effect to deviant peer affiliations, and poor emotional control had a direct effect to coping motives for substance use. The results indicate that both types of self-regulation are relevant for adolescent substance use. Implications for prevention and treatment research are discussed.
