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The consistency of peer and parent influences on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among young adolescents

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana by young adolescents can be described using a common theoretical model. Structural models were created in which psychosocial variables hierarchically predicted the use of each substance. The fit of a model in which paths from predictor variables were constrained to be equal was not inferior in any meaningful way to that of a model in which all path coefficients were freely estimated, thus suggesting that use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana by young adolescents may be considered to be a unitary phenomenon. A simplified model, in which these substances were combined into a single latent variable, showed a good fit. The results of these analyses suggest that it may be beneficial to consider adolescent substance use to be a unitary phenomenon.

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This research was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant 1-R18-DA-003406.

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Hansen, W.B., Graham, J.W., Sobel, J.L. et al. The consistency of peer and parent influences on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among young adolescents. J Behav Med 10, 559–579 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00846655

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