Frequency and Correlates of Substance Use among Preadolescents and Adolescents in a Swiss Epidemiological Study

Abstract

Alcohol use and nicotine use were investigated in a representative sample of 1110 study participants aged 10 to 17 years. In addition to questions on substance use, the participants responded to questionnaires covering behavior and emotions, life events, self-related cognitions, coping capacities, perceived parental behavior, perceived school environment, and the social network. The gender gap in substance used tended to close with increasing age. Parental substance use served as a model for substance use in the participants. Substance users had more abnormal scores on almost all variables as compared to abstaining controls. Lack of acceptance and control, pressure to achieve at school, and life events significantly predicted substance use. The latter served as a moderating risk variable for delinquent behavior under stress.

Socioeconomic Status and Substance Use Behaviors in Adolescents

“…However, it is consistent with recent research that has documented certain types of detrimental outcomes, such as substance use, delinquency and depression, among higher SES teens (Luthar & Becker, 2002;Luthar & D'Avanzo, 1999). Teens from higher SES backgrounds may feel safer experimenting with substances than lower SES teens (Luthar & D'Avanzo, 1999), or may suffer from achievement pressures and isolation from adults (Luthar & Becker, 2002;Luthar & Latendresse, 2005;Steinhausen & Metzke, 1998) leading to greater substance use behaviors.…”

Frequency, stability and differentiation of self-reported school fear and truancy in a community sample

“…One may speculate that with increasing age adolescents showing some form of school absenteeism become more sensitive to life events and their impact or are at least more reliably reporting their life events. The general increase of life events in maladjusted children and adolescents is a well-known fact and has been found also in the ZAPPS both as a general risk factor [ 5 ] and as a specific risk factor for various groups of subjects suffering from depression [ 32 ], suicidal ideation [ 33 , 34 ], eating disorders [ 35 ], and substance abuse [ 36 , 37 ].…”

Privileged but Pressured? A Study of Affluent Youth

“…Prior evidence based on other sociodemographic samples supports the consideration of each of these socializing influences as possible causes of apparently high levels of distress in suburban youth. Achievement pressures, for example, have been linked with high symptom levels and substance use (Ablard & Parker, 1997;Frost, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1991;Steinhausen & Metzke, 1998), as has inadequate parental monitoring (Kandel & Davies, 1996;Kazdin, 1995;Zucker, Fitzgerald, & Moses, 1995), and, in particular, lack of supervision after school (Cooper, Valentine, Nye, & Lindsay, 1999;Mulhall, Stone, & Stone, 1996;Richardson, Radziszewska, Dent, & Flay, 1993). Similarly, the protective role of feelings of closeness to parents has been amply documented (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992;Masten, 2001); more specifically, closeness to mothers has been shown to be a major determinant of well-being among children and adolescents (Frank, Pirsch, & Wright, 1990;Sheeber, Hops, Alpert, Davis, & Andrews, 1997).…”