Effects of gender on socialization factors in adolescent drug use
Date
1998
Authors
Rial, Daniel, author
Swaim, Randall C., advisor
Chavez, Ernest L., advisor
Fritz, Janet J., 1942-, committee member
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Abstract
This study investigated differences, by gender, in the roles that various socialization factors play in a model of causal processes leading to adolescent drug use. Five latent socialization variables (family strength, family sanctions against drug use, religious identification, school adjustment, and peer drug associations) were based on 15 observed variables, and the dependent latent variable (polydrug use) was based on 3 observed variables. Data from a representative national sample of 2306 public school students from grades 7 to 12 were analyzed using the socialization model posited by Peer Cluster Theory. MANOVAs (Developmental Level by Gender) were conducted on the groups of indicator variables associated with each latent variable, and several significant multivariate main effects were found for gender. Female participants reported higher levels of the variables contributing to family sanctions, religious identification, and school adjustment. Male participants reported higher levels of the variables contributing to peer drug associations and polydrug use. The socialization model was evaluated using structural equation modeling methods. The measurement and structural components of the basic model were evaluated first, followed by the test of a new model that included an additional direct path from family sanctions to polydrug use. Some differences in paths between variables were observed across gender. Among the 7th- to 9th- grade students, two paths were found to be significantly different across gender: 1) while for younger males, family strength correlated significantly and positively with family sanctions, this path was not significant for the younger females; and 2) while the relationship between religious identification and school adjustment was significant and positive for both genders in the younger age level, religious identification had a stronger effect on school adjustment for younger males than for younger females. Among the 10th- to 12th- grade students, three paths were found to significantly differ across gender: 1) while for both males and females increased family sanctions was associated with reduced peer drug associations, the effect was more pronounced for females; 2) while higher school adjustment led to lower peer drug associations for males, the effect for females was not significant; and 3) while for both genders, higher levels of peer drug associations were associated with higher polydrug use, this effect was stronger for males. Finally, when the models were rerun after adding a direct path from family sanctions to polydrug use, and this new model was compared against the original model, there was a difference in change of fit across developmental level. This new path did not significantly change fit for the younger students, but it did for the older students. Among the older students the strength of this path varied by gender, being stronger for males than females. Consistent with Peer Cluster Theory, these data can be interpreted as supporting the role of peer drug associations as mediating the effects of other socialization variables on adolescent drug use. Implications of these findings of differences by gender and developmental level for development of intervention and prevention programs are discussed, and suggestions are made for future directions in adolescent drug use research.
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Subject
Teenagers -- Substance use -- Social aspects
Teenagers -- Substance use -- Sex differences