Social skills and attitudes associated with substance use behaviors among young adolescents

• Published in: Journal of adolescent health Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 448 - 454
• Main Authors: Barkin, Shari L., Smith, Karen S., DuRant, Robert H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-06-2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Attitude to Health; Attitudes; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Communication; Empowerment; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Junior High School Students; Linear Models; Male; Medical sciences; Middle schools; Miscellaneous; North Carolina; Predictors; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Self-efficacy skills; Social Behavior; Social Competence; Social skills; Students; Substance Abuse; Substance use; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; USA; Young adolescents; Substance use; Self-efficacy skills; Young adolescents; Human; Consumption; Alcoholic beverage; Tobacco; Attitude; Illicit drug; Adolescent; Risk factor; Self efficacy; Social aptitude; Personality; Weapon
• ISSN: 1054-139X; 1879-1972
• DOI: 10.1016/S1054-139X(01)00405-0

Purpose: To examine how adolescents’ attitudes and social skills affect current substance use and intentions to use substances in the future.
Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to 2646 seventh graders in their classrooms. The questionnaire was developed to measure the frequency of tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use, anticipated use, positive attitudes toward drug use, self-efficacy to say “no,” decision-making skills, advertising-viewing skills, anxiety-reducing skills, communication skills, drug-resistance skills, perception of peer substance use, and weapon-carrying behavior. Ethnicity classified respondents as “white” or “students of color” and family structure indicated one vs. two-parent families. Data were analyzed with Spearman’s r, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression.
Results: Forty-one percent of students were minority, 50.6% female, over 90% were either 12- or 13-year-olds, and 69.9% lived in two-parent families. A multiple linear regression model demonstrated that self-efficacy to say “no, positive attitudes toward drug use, perception of peer substance use, male gender, weapon-carrying, and fighting accounted for 51% of the variation in the
current use multiple substance scale.
Anticipated substance use during the subsequent year was significantly associated with
current substance use, positive attitudes toward drug use, self-efficacy to say ”no, drug-resistance skills, weapon-carrying, and fighting behavior. This model accounted for 73.9% of the variance in
anticipated substance use.
Conclusions: In today’s world, where drug use is common, building adolescents’ drug-resistance skills and self-efficacy, while enhancing decision-making capacity, may reduce their use of illegal substances.