Substance Abuse Among Suburban Youth: Prospective Study

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed investigation is focused on a group of youngsters rarely studied by developmental scientists in the past, those in relatively affluent, suburban families. The few studies that do exist indicate surprisingly high maladjustment among these youth across various domains, particularly substance use and subjective distress. The central objective of this research is to illuminate the ontogenesis of substance use and related problems among suburban teens, with special attention to forces likely to be especially salient in this contextual setting and at this developmental stage. Specifically, based on annual assessments of a cohort of suburban youth from the 6th through 12th grades, we will pursue the following aims: (1.) To examine developmental trajectories across the pre- through late adolescent years;(2.) To examine the antecedents of substance useamong suburban adolescents, including individual factors (subjective distress and behavioral competence); context-relevant pathways (including achievement pressures and disconnection from parents); and influences of the peer community (peers? endorsement of substance use); (3.) To examine the consequences of substance usethrough the high school years, including those pertaining to self-reported inner distress problems in everyday social competence (academic difficulties and behavioral non-conformity), and alienation from parents. Each of these objectives will be pursued separately for boys and girls. Assessments involve multiple respondents and multiple instruments with good psychometric properties, and substance use is measured in terms of both annual and monthly use of different substances, as well as problem severity. The sample will consist of a cohort of sixth grade students (n=338) in an affluent town in the North East. Baseline 6th grade), as well as one- and two-year prospective data have already been obtained, and funding is being requested to follow this cohort for four more annual assessments. Tracking these youth through a seven-year period spanning pre-adolescence (prior to the onset of substance use and related problems) through late adolescence (by which time many problems have become crystallized) will be invaluable in documenting the pathways to, and consequences of, substance use by a group of youngsters at apparently high risk -- yet little studied in the past.