NCJ Number
213145
Journal
Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 73-80
Date Published
2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Utilizing confirmatory factor analyses, this study performed a comparison of four models of adolescent substance misuses to examine the developmental pathways of addiction.
Abstract
In addressing the question of the number of dimensions in adolescent use of substances, this study found that a two-factor model, legal and illicit use, was valid. In addition, alcohol consumption preceded both legal and illicit drug use. One model proposed that alcohol consumption was associated not only to tobacco use but also associated to illicit drug use. Alcohol drinking, tobacco use, sniffing of a dissolvent and cannabis use were proposed to depend on one, two, three, and four latent factors. The results emphasize that high alcohol consumption might be a different type of phenomenon if combined with other drugs, indicating that there is probably more than one model leading towards addictive behaviors. This study addressed the issue of the number of developmental pathways of addiction involved during adolescence. It used a dimensional rather than a classification approach. The fit of the model proposing substance use as one homogeneous syndrome was compared to the fit of the models proposing two, three, and four separate dimensions. The study investigated the association between tobacco use, alcohol consumption, sniffing of a dissolvent, and misuse of cannabis. Tables, references