School and County Characteristics as Predictors of School Rates of Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Offenses

• Published in: Journal of health and social behavior Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 408 - 421
• Main Authors: Eitle, David J., Eitle, Tamela McNulty
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA American Sociological Association 01-12-2004; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcoholism; Alcohols; Behavior Problems; Biological and medical sciences; Census Figures; Counties; Crime in schools; Criminal offenses; Drinking; Drinking Behavior; Drug Abuse; Drug Use; Educational Environment; Female; Florida; Florida - epidemiology; Geography; High schools; Humans; Incidence; Institutional Characteristics; Male; Medical sciences; Middle schools; Miscellaneous; Modeling; Multilevel models; Predictive Validity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rural Schools; School Culture; School Effectiveness; School Environment; School Organization; School Safety; Schools; Self-Injurious Behavior; Smoking; Social behavior; Social Environment; Statistical Analysis; Student Behavior; Substance Abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Teacher Characteristics; Tobacco smoke; Urban Schools; Violent crimes; Florida; Human; Consumption; Context; Social environment; Alcoholic beverage; Tobacco; Illicit drug; Adolescent; Risk factor; Prediction; School environment
• ISSN: 0022-1465; 2150-6000
• DOI: 10.1177/002214650404500404

Despite evidence that school factors are associated with differences in various types of student behavior, little research has explored the predictive utility of school factors for school-level substance offense rates. Using data from the State of Florida Department of Education and the Census, we explore the associations between school climate and school substance offense rates, controlling for county level characteristics. Results from a multilevel analysis show that school culture, school organization, and social milieu predict variation in school substance incident rate. We interpret the findings as consistent with research utilizing the "school culture/school effectiveness" model.