In this longitudinal study, the relationship of three domains (personality/attitudinal orientations, peer relationships, and family socialization factors) with initiation into adolescent marijuana use was examined. One hundred and eighty-three adolescent boys and girls and their mothers were interviewed when the adolescents were 13-17 years old and again three years later. The results indicate that the domains of personality and family (with control on the other two domains and demographic variables) each appear to be related to subsequent involvement with marijuana. In contrast, the peer domain is not significantly associated with initiation into marijuana use once personality, family, and demographic clusters are controlled. However, the interaction of maternal demographic clusters are controlled. However, the interaction of maternal conventionality and peer marijuana use was related to initiation into marijuana use.

Three models (interdependent, mediational, and independent) for examining the interrelations of personality and interpersonal (peer and family) factors and their effect on adolescents' drug behavior are identified. 403 adolescents participated in the study. Results show support for the independent model; each of the three domains (personality, peer, and family) had an impact on adolescents' drug behavior independent of the latter's relation with the remaining two domains. Some theoretical, methodological, and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

No abstract

Practitioners'decisions of when to use ST (planned short-term) versus LT (long-term) therapy were studied via their responses to vignettes and an open-ended question about their cnteria for choosing. Using a factorial design, the effects of clients' symptoms (adjustment disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, and borderline personality disorder), gender, race (White and Black), and education (high school and college) were tested. The presence of adjustment disorder symptoms alone was able to correctly predict therapist's decision of when to use ST and LT 92% of the time. ST was recommended for adjustment disorder 95% of the time, but only 13% for Dysthymic Disorder and 9% for borderline personality. In the remainder of these cases LT was recommended. Responses to open-ended questions further support these results. Clients'race, gender, and education did not have a general effect on the choice between ST and LT, except in the dysthymia and borderline groups. There were no significant interactions between client variables. Therapist characteristics had only slight relationships to decisions made. Despite preferences to treat adjustment disorder with ST, and that 25 percent of actual respondent's chents were so diagnosed, therapists treated less than 1.5 ST cases annually.

This study examines family socialization practices and adolescent personality/attitudinal characteristics, their interrelation, and association with adolescent use of marijuana. Two hundred and eighty-four adolescents and their mothers served as Ss. As hypothesized, parental socialization factors and adolescent personality/attitudinal attributes each had an independent effect on adolescent use of marijuana and each comprised its own set of sufficient conditions for adolescent marijuana use.