title: Young adolescents' perceived activity space risk, peer networks, and substance use.
abstract: Adolescent substance use is a developmentally contingent social practice that is constituted within the routine social-environment of adolescents' lives. Few studies have examined peer networks, perceived activity space risk (risk of substance use at routine locations), and substance use. We examined the moderating influence of peer network characteristics on the relationship between perceived activity space risk and substance use among a sample of 250 urban adolescents. Significant interactions were found between peer networks and perceived activity space risk on tobacco and marijuana use, such that protective peer networks reduced the effect of activity place risk on substance use. A significant 3-way interaction was found on marijuana use indicating that gender moderated peer network's effect on activity space risk. Conditional effect analysis found that boys' peer networks moderated the effect of perceived activity space risk on marijuana use, whereas for girls, the effect of perceived activity space risk on marijuana use was not moderated by their peer networks. These findings could advance theoretical models to inform social-environmental research among adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Commonwealth Institute for Child & Family Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 515 N 10th Street, PO Box 980489, Richmond, VA 23298-0489, United States. Electronic address: Mjmason@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Department of Geography & Urban Studies, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mennis
authors.affiliation: Villanova University, Department of Computing Sciences, Villanova, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Way
authors.affiliation: Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Light
authors.affiliation: Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rusby
authors.affiliation: Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Westling
authors.affiliation: Viriginia Commonwealth University, Department of Pediatrics, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crewe
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University, Department of Health Promotion and Health Behavior, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flay
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Commonwealth Institute for Child & Family Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 515 N 10th Street, PO Box 980489, Richmond, VA 23298-0489, United States.
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychiatry, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zaharakis
authors.affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychiatry, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McHenry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000208:ethnology; D010379:Peer Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Activity space; Gender differences; Peer networks; Substance use; Urban adolescents