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

J Behav Med. 1987 Dec;10(6):559-79. doi: 10.1007/BF00846655.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Alcohol Drinking / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Marijuana Smoking / psychology*
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Peer Group*
  • Risk Factors
  • Smoking / psychology*
  • Social Facilitation