NCJ Number
205884
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 39 Issue: 6 Dated: May 2004 Pages: 963-991
Date Published
May 2004
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether gender had an influence in determining whether a school-based drug abuse prevention program slowed the growth rate in substance initiation and increased social assertiveness over time for a sample of seventh-grade students.
Abstract
Seventh-grade students enrolled in 36 schools in 22 continuous rural counties in a Midwestern State were the study participants. In order to be included in the study, a school had to meet 2 criteria: economic stress among families at or above the statewide mean level and be located in a community with a population of less than 8,000. A total of 456 students completed pretesting, posttesting, and follow-up with reference to participation in the school-based preventive intervention. The intervention was designed to influence empirically determined mediators and moderators of adolescent substance use, based on social learning theory and problem behavior theory. Substance abuse initiation was determined with a scale that combined three dichotomous self-report items regarding the lifetime use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. A self-report assertiveness scale modified to be used with adolescents assessed social assertiveness on a five-point Likert-type scale. The Teacher Report Form of the Youth Self Report was used to assess internalizing. Internalizing was relevant to the study because it has been identified as one of the most common patterns of impaired psychological functioning and a threat to well-being among adolescents. Two theoretical models provide support for the mechanism that links internalizing to social assertiveness and substance initiation. A latent growth curve comparison analysis found that girls who had higher levels of internalizing demonstrated faster growth rates in substance-use initiation. This suggests that the initiation of substance use might occur in response to the symptoms of internalizing, e.g., depression and anxiety. There was a significant positive association between initial levels of social assertiveness and substance initiation for girls only. Study findings suggest that lower initial levels of social assertiveness might act as a protective factor for adolescent girls. Girls who participated in the intervention demonstrated a faster growth in social-assertiveness skill and a slower growth in substance initiation. Overall, the findings show the importance of including interpersonal-relationship skill building in drug abuse prevention programs so as to increase experiences of self-competency and self-efficacy, particularly for girls. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 56 references