NCJ Number
74871
Date Published
1980
Length
30 pages
Annotation
The incidence of alcohol and marijuana use among Native American and Caucasian adolescents was examined in a rural school district to determine the efficacy of social learning and social control theory variables in explaining cross-cultural variance in drug and alcohol use.
Abstract
Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire given to 900 sixth through twelfth grade students in a rural school district in a Rocky Mountain state; over 100 Native American students were included in the sample. In addition to age and sex data, students were queried on parental and peer group attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana, as well as their own attitudes toward alcohol laws. Results showed that sex and age together accounted for 12 percent of the variance in marijuana use/non-use among Caucasian students and 22 percent among Native American youth. However, age was a much stronger factor than sex, indicating that marijuana users tended to be older male students. Attitudes of Caucasian youth toward the marijuana laws explained a large part of the vairance in drug usage (24 percent), but accounted for only 7 percent of the variance among Native Americans. The frequency of peer discussions about drugs was a much more important factor in marijuana use among Native Americans than among Caucasians. Age and sex, attitudes toward the law, and parental and peer support factors were much less efficient in distinguishing alcohol users from non-users than in distinguishing marijuana users for both Native Americans and Caucasians. Despite considerable variations, social learning and social control theories have the greatest potential as research tools for understanding deviant human behavior. Thirty-five references and three tables are provided.