A Test of Biosocial Models of Adolescent Cigarette and Alcohol Involvement

Abstract

We tested biosocial models that posit interactions between biological variables (testosterone, estradiol, pubertal status, and pubertal timing) and social context variables (family, peer, school, and neighborhood) in predicting adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol in a sample of 409 adolescents in grades 6 and 8. Models including the biological and contextual variables and their interactions explained significantly more variance in adolescent cigarette and alcohol involvement than did models including only the main effects of the biological and contextual variables. Post-hoc analyses of significant interactions suggested that, in most case, moderation occurred in the hypothesized direction. Consistent with dual hazards models of adolescent antisocial behaviors, the relationships between the biological and substance use variables became positive and stronger as the context became more harmful. Considerations of adolescent substance use, and perhaps other problem behaviors, should recognize the possible role of biological variables and how their influence may vary by social context. Keywordshormones; adolescent cigarette use; adolescent alcohol use; biosocial models Research on adolescent problem behaviors has largely been limited to examining the influence of psychological and social factors. However, several theoretical perspectives suggest that biological factors also play a role in the development of adolescent problem behaviors (Flay & Petraitis, 1994;Huba, Wingard, & Bentler, 1980;Jessor, 1991). Collectively, these theories suggest the need to consider biological, psychological, and social factors together to better understand problem behaviors that begin and accelerate during early adolescence. Moreover, they emphasize that individuals are embedded in social contexts and that there is dynamic interaction between the contexts and biological factors. However, most research does not simultaneously consider both contextual and biological variables. In this study, we consider the interaction of biological factors and social contexts as they relate to adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol. The biological variables NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript to be examined include hormonal processes and characteristics of pubertal development. The social contexts considered include family, peers, school, and neighborhood, which are considered key contexts in the lives of adolescents (Bronfenbrenner, 1979;Brooks-Gunn, 1987). Our hypotheses are guided by dual-hazards models of antisocial behavior which propose that a biological propensity for antisocial behavior will be exacerbated in harmful social contexts.The hormones examined are testosterone for both boys and girls, and estradiol for girls. Testosterone and estradiol are sex steroids from two endocrine groups: androgens (testosterone) and estrogens (estradiol). They are responsible for the sexual maturation changes associated with puberty that typically begin around age 11 for girls and age 12 fo...

Testosterone and Its Effects on Human Male Adolescent Mood and Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…However, there was significant modification of aggressive behavior by parentechild relationship [17] and modification of substance use through peer, family, and school context [20]. Vermeersch et al [18] found that peer association moderated the relationship between testosterone and risk taking.…”

“…In group B, only one study [20] found a positive association between testosterone and drug use, which increased as the family, peer, neighbor, and school context became more harmful. The other studies did not find associations between testosterone and drug use but did not consider any peer or family context or other potential modifiers of behavior.…”

Person-Environment Interactions and Adolescent Substance Use: The Role of Sensation Seeking and Perceived Neighborhood Risk

“…So, even though the associations between the individual and contextual risks and adolescent substance use have been copiously studied, not many have examined how social contexts may interact with or moderate the role of individual characteristics to shape early substance use. And even though some studies explored the simultaneous contributions of multiple risk factors from multiple ecological levels on adolescent use (Buu et al, 2009), only a handful of reports (Foshee et al, 2007;Hill et al, 2010;Legrand, Keyes, McGue, Iacono, & Krueger, 2008;Scheier et al, 2001) specifically examined person-environment models in relation to adolescent substance use, or asked the question of how different personal characteristics interact with different environments to shape early substance use.…”

“…The specific focus was on the putative interactive (i.e., moderating) effects, as such person-environment approaches have been understudied in the etiology of underage substance use (Cleveland, Feinberg, Bontempo, & Greenberg, 2008;Ennett et al, 2008;Foshee et al, 2007); yet they may be vastly more informative-both empirically and theoretically-than the simple main-effects models (Ennett et al, 2008;Foshee et al, 2007). Because such interaction hypotheses have not been extensively tested, it remains largely unclear whether individuals with different temperaments would respond differently to different contextual risks, and, if so, how these risks may interact to impact actual substance use.…”

Pubertal Development and Adolescent Girls’ Substance Use

“…Among a sample of suburban middle school students in North Carolina, Foshee et al (2007) found that the effect of pubertal development on cigarette and alcohol use among girls was moderated by peer contexts but not neighborhood contexts. However, Foshee et al (2007) speculate that the lack of observed neighborhood effects in their study may have been due to problems with the validity of their pubertal timing measure. So there is a paucity of empirical research examining the moderating role of neighborhood disadvantage on the association between pubertal development and adolescent girls' substance use, and the available studies have been limited to specific geographic areas, racially and economically homogenous samples, or limited by psychometrically suspect measures.…”