Predictors of substance use among homeless youth in San Diego.
This study examined the frequency of substance use among 14- to 24-year-old homeless youth (N=113) recruited from two community drop-in centers and explored the relationship between substance use and hypothesized psychosocial predictors. Audio-computer-assisted self-interviewing (A-CASI) was used for assessment. Including alcohol and tobacco, the mean number of different drugs used was 3.55 for lifetime and 2.34 for the last 3 months. A three-block hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine potential predictors of overall drug use (the sum of all different drugs used) during the last 3 months. Block 1 included demographic variables, Block 2 included a parental monitoring variable, and Block 3 included peer and environmental variables derived from learning theories. Parental monitoring (-) and peer variables (+) predicted overall 3-month drug use. The final model explained 36% of the variance in overall drug use. Results suggest that homeless adolescent drug use exists at high levels and is related to parental monitoring and peer modeling of other risk behaviors. These results may inform future prevention strategies for homeless youth and other high-risk populations.
Bousman
Chad A
CA
Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 230, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
Blumberg
Elaine J
EJ
Shillington
Audrey M
AM
Hovell
Melbourne F
MF
Ji
Ming
M
Lehman
Stephanie
S
Clapp
John
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003415:Crime; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D010379:Peer Group; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*