Adolescents and Substance AbuseGrit: A Potential Protective Factor Against Substance Use and Other Risk Behaviors Among Latino Adolescents
Section snippets
Methods
We analyzed the baseline data from the RISE UP study, which is a natural experimental study designed to understand the impact of high-performing school environments on adolescent health and health behaviors. RISE UP is a follow-up study from RISE (Reducing health Inequities through Social and Educational change Study),1 which surveyed applicants to 3 high-performing public charter high schools in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles to test the hypothesis that exposure to such schools
Results
A total of 1996 students were identified from the applicant list for the 5 charter schools to participate in our study. One hundred forty (7.0%) were excluded for sibling admission preference, 27 (1.4%) for moving out of the Los Angeles area, and 320 (16.0%) because they could not be located or contacted. Of the remaining 1509 students eligible for the study, 239 (15.8%) refused participation. The final sample consisted of 1270 students.
The baseline sample of 9th grade students was mostly
Discussion
Although education and health outcomes are closely linked, it has been theorized that social-emotional and other noncognitive skills learned in childhood and adolescence are the key ingredients that lead to both better educational and health trajectories over the life course. Educational researchers have found that social-emotional skills can lead to improved scholastic performance, including more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, and better grades.9, 26 Yet much less is known
Acknowledgment
Supported in part by a diversity supplement grant to LRG from the US National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA033362-03S2, PI Wong).
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.