Relationship of Substance Use and Associated Predictors of Violence in Early, Middle, and Late Adolescence

• NCJ Number: 204383
• Journal: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: 2003 Pages: 61-81
• Author(s): Michelle D. Weiner; Mary Ann Pentz; Silvana N. Skara; Chaoyang Li; Chih-Ping Chou; James H. Dwyer
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined relationships among selected predictors of violence and drug use for 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade adolescents.

Abstract

The study involved a secondary analysis of data collected by a local drug abuse coalition as part of an ongoing annual prevalence study of adolescent drug use and related health behaviors. The study was conducted in a Midwestern metropolitan area during the 1997-98 school year in 70 schools. The study participants were 2,490 8th-grade, 952 10th-grade, and 1,131 12th-grade students. Data were collected with anonymous surveys administered by trained staff. The 46-item questionnaire asked students about a variety of health-related behaviors. Drug-use items measured monthly drug use. Also measured were hostile anger, the frequency of weapon-carrying, being in a physical fight, purposely damaging property, and conflict-management efficacy. The study found a stability in links between hostile anger, violence, and drug use. The correlational relationship between low conflict-management efficacy and relational victimization, which was evident only in eighth-grade students, suggests a vulnerability and lack of confidence in early adolescence that may diminish with age. Additionally, the direct relationship between relational victimization and violence across all three grades may indicate participation in high-risk peer groups that both practice and are victimized by antisocial behavior. The direct relationship between low conflict-management efficacy and gateway drug use, which was significant across all three grades suggests that the effects of self-efficacy specific to one problem behavior may generalize to others, such as drug use. The magnitude of specific paths in the model did not follow a linear progression of increase across grades. Alternative explanations are offered for this finding. Although acknowledging study limitations, the authors conclude that this study provides preliminary evidence of the interrelationship of victimization, low conflict-management efficacy, hostile anger, drug use, and violence in adolescence. Efforts to prevent violence, therefore, should address hostile anger by improving conflict-management efficacy, which should in turn reduce drug use. 4 tables, 2 figures, and 34 references