Original articleEscalation and Initiation of Younger Adolescents’ Substance Use: The Impact of Perceived Peer Use
Section snippets
Sample
Data were collected from sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from two middle schools in California in November and May of a single school year (n = 974). The sample was 45% male, and ranged in age from 10 to 15 years at Time 1 (M = 11.95, SD = .86). Approximately 44% were White, 26% Latino, 7% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 4% African American, 14% identified themselves as mixed ethnic origin, and 5% identified themselves as “other.”
Procedure
Materials and procedures were approved by the Human Subjects
Grade differences
Table 1 provides descriptive data for lifetime use of each substance at Time 1, and past-month and perceived peer use at both time points. Chi-square comparisons indicated that prevalence rates for all substance and perceived peer use variables differed across grades, with higher rates reported by participants in the older grades, except for past-month cigarette use at Time 2.
Gender differences
Rates for substance use did not differ across gender. Rates for perceived peer use differed only at Time 1, with females
Discussion
We examined the impact of perceived peer substance involvement on middle school students’ personal substance use and initiation of use over an academic year. We addressed gaps in the literature by longitudinally assessing use and onset of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana for a younger population, controlling for previous use of these substances, and examining how both personal use and perception of use for different substances (e.g., alcohol and cigarettes) may influence escalation and onset
Acknowledgments
Work on this article was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R21AA13284) to Elizabeth D’Amico. The authors acknowledge the support of the school district and the two middle schools where this research was conducted and thank the Principals and Physical Education departments whose support made this project possible. We would also like to acknowledge the comments of the three reviewers who helped clarify our presentation of this research.
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