Situating alcohol use and delinquency within developmental and societal context: the case of Korean youth.
In this study involving self-report questionnaire data from 955 tenth-grade students in three locations within Korea, we address the meanings of alcohol use and delinquency for Korean youth. Findings (a) supported a facilitative role for alcohol, but not delinquency, with respect to perceived peer social competence; (b) indicated negative associations of both alcohol use and delinquency with parental relations, valuing academic achievement, and collectivistic values, and positive associations with friends' risk behaviours; (c) showed no relationship of these behaviours with self-esteem, coping, parental permissiveness or individualistic values; and (d) revealed that perceived benefits of alcohol use and delinquency include not only social facilitation but also exploration and assertion of independence, suggesting a potential connection, as in Western societies, between risk taking, and identity exploration.
Lee
Ji-Min
JM
Department of Family and Housing Studies, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsanbuk-do 712-749, S. Korea.
Bell
Nancy J
NJ
Watson
Wendy
W
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires