Comparison of three theoretical models of substance use among urban minority high school students.
OBJECTIVE
This study compares the relative explanatory power of three theoretical models of substance use among urban minority high school students.


METHODS
A substance use survey was administered in the spring of 1991 to a randomly selected sample of classrooms in the ninth through twelfth grades of three public academic high schools in a New York City borough. Survey participants (N = 919) were 59% black and 34% Hispanic; the mean age was 16.4 years.


RESULTS
Substantial proportions of this sample of students reported experimental or occasional alcohol and cigarette use in the past year, and approximately one-tenth reported frequent use of these substances. Only small proportions of students reported past-year marijuana use, and few or no students reported past-year use of cocaine, crack or intravenous heroin. The socialization model of substance use was much more powerful than either the stress/strain or disaffiliation models in explaining past-year use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. However, certain variables derived from the stress/strain and disaffiliation models were important risk factors for the frequent use of these substances.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that the further elucidation of the social influence process among adolescents, and the development, implementation, and evaluation of especially intensive programs aimed at high-risk youths, should become adolescent substance use prevention research priorities.
Walter
H J
HJ
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
Vaughan
R D
RD
Cohall
A T
AT
D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs