Studied the characteristics of adolescents who ride with a drinking driver but do not drink and drive themselves. Selected socio-demographic characteristics and alcohol related attitudes and behaviors are investigated. Findings suggest riding with a drinking driver may lead to the eventual practice of drinking and driving. (Author)

Examined relationships among drinking norms, peer alcohol use, alcohol availability, drinking location, alcohol consumption, and drinking-related problems among young adult drinkers (N=3,095). Results show that drinking norms and peer alcohol use influenced alcohol consumption and drinking consequences. Drinking in public contributed to alcohol…

Evaluates a social development model of psychosocial predictors of drug use in Anglo and Hispanic children and adolescents. Structural equation models reveal that patterns and predictors of drug use are distinct for each sub-group, by age and ethnicity. Later drug use was primarily associated with prior use, exposure to parental and peer models of…

Examined relative influence of parenting behaviors (support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and deviant peers on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. Found that parents' firm behavioral control seemed to halt the upward trajectory in externalizing problems among adolescents with deviant…

Etiological studies canvassing five major domains of risk are reviewed. The five domains reflect unique facets of risk that are central to many current prevention approaches and include: peer social influences, family processes, expectancies, social skills, and personality factors. Each domain is discussed with regard to major theoretical issues,…

Examined adolescents' peer structures and the quality of their friendships as antecedents of romantic relationships among 180 high schoolers followed from grade 9 through 11. Found that small groups of close friends predicted other-sex peer networks that, in turn, predicted the emergence of future romantic relationships. Found indirect effects for…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine whether attitudes are a better predictor of adolescents' intentions to use dietary supplements than are subjective norms, and (2) to assess the influence of significant others on attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions among adolescent athletes. Results indicated that attitudes were a better…

Few studies have examined the predictors of substance use for ethnic minority adolescents. The current longitudinal study investigated whether factors predictive of substance use for Caucasian adolescents were also predictive for African American adolescents. Results indicated which predictors of substance use actually differ across African…

Despite the success of many drug and alcohol prevention programs, drug and alcohol use by adolescents continues to be a problem. One important factor in preventing drug and alcohol use may be determining, in a non-intrusive manner, which students are most at risk for drug involvement. In the present study, the predictive relationship between…

The Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Office of Youth Development's National Strategy for Youth Development model was promoted as a community-based planning and procedural tool for enhancing positive youth development and reducing delinquency. To test the applicability of the model as a function of delinquency level, the program's Impact Scales…

College undergraduates (N=53) reporting use of a hallucinogenic mushroom (Psilocybe) were matched to nonusers. Hallucinogenic mushroom use by men was most associated with peers' mushroom use, whereas mushroom use by women was most associated with parental drug use, especially fathers' marijuana use. Personality measures were secondary in…

A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome was develop emphasizing academic, social, and personal outcomes of the selection or socialization of students at a university. The model was estimated using path analysis, and the intervening variables were found to be important predictors of dropout syndrome. (Author/DWH)

Examined female college students' (N=466) drug use, marihuana use in particular. Results indicated that the gap in marihuana usage patterns between females and males has substantially narrowed. Female marihuana users used other drugs quite extensively and had friends who use marihuana. Peer influence was a major factor in drug use. (JAC)

Surveyed rural French students age 13-18 years to investigate the extent to which measures of social control and learning/differential association theories could be generalized to, and help explain, delinquency. Social control measures either did not form reliable scales or were not significantly related to various offense scales. Measures of…

At 4-year followup on 110 Mexican-American adolescents in a drug abuse prevention program, association with deviant peers was strongly predictive of alcohol and drug use and criminality, whereas parental influences were minor predictors. Low school satisfaction was related to greater drug use, particularly for females. (Author/SV)