69: A longitudinal analysis of substance abuse among inner-city adolescent females

The Intersection of Social Media Sites and Narrative Therapy in Treating Substance Use in Urban African American Adolescents

“…Males are at higher risks of early onset than females and that this predisposition is related to alienation, anger traits, interaction anxiousness, and prouse beliefs about alcohol (Thomas, 1996). Specifically, during childhood, relatively low intellectual level, poor academic performance, early sexual activity, and depression are found to be the risk factors for early involvement in drug use for females (Fang et al, 2006). Other researchers found early aggressive or shy behavior to be predictive of later heavy substance use status for males, whereas family bonds were found to be predictive of later substance use for females (Ensminger, Brown, & Kellam, 1982).…”

“…These are macro-level risk factors that focus on the environmental contexts in which adolescents live and that facilitate, if not encourage, their involvement with drugs (Maddahian et al, 1988;Wallace & Muroff, 2002). Individual and interpersonal risk factors for adolescent substance use include the following: (1) associating with drug-using peers and early peer rejection; (2) family stressors; (3) academic problems; (4) alienation, depression, and rebellion; (5) attitudes favorable toward drug use; and (6) early involvement in drug use and other antisocial behaviors (Fang et al, 2006;Greydanus & Patel, 2005;Maddahian et al, 1988;Weinberg, 2001). Important to highlight here are the familial risk factors that are specific to intergenerational patterns of substance use in families, poor and inconsistent family management practices, high levels of family conflict, and low bonding to family (Rowe & Liddle, 2008).…”