Substance Abuse Among Suburban Youth: Prospective Study

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的调查主要针对一群过去很少被发展科学家研究的年轻人，他们来自相对富裕的郊区家庭。确实存在的少数研究表明，这些年轻人在各个领域，特别是物质使用和主观痛苦方面的适应不良程度高得惊人。本研究的中心目标是阐明在郊区青少年中物质使用和相关问题的个体发生，特别关注在这种背景下和在这个发展阶段可能特别突出的力量。具体来说，基于对一群从6年级到12年级的郊区青少年的年度评估，我们将追求以下目标：(1)研究从前期到后期的发育轨迹

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.