Gender-Specific Effects of Social Influences and Competence on Lifetime Poly-Drug Use among Inner-City Adolescents

This study examined the relationship of social influences to use drugs and competence variables with lifetime poly-drug use for adolescents residing in inner-city regions. The same model was tested separately for boys and girls. Sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 2400) in inner-city schools self-report...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of child & adolescent substance abuse Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 243 - 256
Main Authors Epstein, Jennifer A, Botvin, Gilbert J, Doyle, Margaret
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 01.07.2009
Subjects
Adolescents
Assertiveness
At Risk Persons
Competence
Decision Making
Drinking
Drug Abuse
Drug Use
Females
Gender Differences
Grade 6
Grade 7
Males
New York
Parent Influence
Parenting Styles
Peer Influence
Resistance (Psychology)
Self Efficacy
Smoking
Social Influences
Urban Areas
New York
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:This study examined the relationship of social influences to use drugs and competence variables with lifetime poly-drug use for adolescents residing in inner-city regions. The same model was tested separately for boys and girls. Sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 2400) in inner-city schools self-reported substance use, social influences to use drugs (e.g., friends' substance use), and competence skills (i.e., refusal assertiveness, decision-making). Logistic regressions indicated that friends' smoking and drinking habits, and permissive/ambivalent parental attitudes toward respondents' drinking, were associated with poly-drug use. High self-efficacy and more frequent refusal assertiveness were related to less poly-drug use for the overall sample. Ambivalent/permissive attitudes of friends toward the respondents' smoking were related to greater poly-drug use for girls, but not boys. Perceptions of higher prevalence norms for peer smoking and less frequent refusal assertiveness each were associated with more poly-drug use for boys, but not girls. (Contains 1 table.)
ISSN:1067-828X
DOI:10.1080/10678280902973260