Intraindividual Variability of School Bonding and Adolescents? Beliefs About the Effect of Substance Use on Future Aspirations

Abstract

The study examines the dynamic relationship between school bonding, beliefs about the deleterious effects of substance use on future aspirations, and subsequent substance use among a sample of 1065 male and female middle school students. First, a mediation model was assessed. Adolescents' perceptions about the harmful effects of substance use on their future aspirations emerged as a salient mediator of the relationship between school bonding and subsequent substance use. Second, the intraindividual variability of school bonding and its effect on students' beliefs about the potential harm of substance use on future aspirations was assessed through random-coefficient models. Students who tended to be poorly bonded to school were less likely to perceive that substance use may impede the attainment of their future goals. Furthermore, a strong intraindividual effect of school bonding was observed, indicating that as a student became more or less bonded to school his/her belief that substance use could affect future aspirations similarly changed.

Adolescent goal content and pursuit: A review of the literature from the past 16 years

“…A greater perceived detrimental effect of substance use on future goals has been found to be related to lower concurrent and subsequent substance use (Henry, Swaim & Slater, 2005) although this risk perception appears to decrease with age. Similarly, some studies have investigated goal conflict as a possible protective factor against unhealthy behaviors.…”

School Effects on Young People’s Drug Use: A Systematic Review of Intervention and Observational Studies

“…Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria; they were published between 1985 and 2006 [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. All but two of these studies were carried out in the United States: one was carried out in Scotland [47], and one in Sweden [32].…”

Core competencies and the prevention of adolescent substance use

“…Strong family relationships are associated with adolescents' positive life orientation; these beliefs, in turn, are associated with bonding to conventional peers and less substance use (Kogan, Luo, Murry, & Brody, 2005). When young adolescents believe that substance use will interfere with their future aspirations and is incongruent with their preferred lifestyle, they are less likely to use in late adolescence (Henry, Swaim, & Slater, 2005;McNeal & Hansen, 1999). A positive future orientation is also associated with less serious alcohol use and less engagement in alcohol-related risk behaviors such as frequent drunkenness, hard drug use, and having sex while drinking (Robbins & Bryan, 2004).…”

“…Other complementary research suggests that adolescents who are bonded to school are more likely to believe that substance use will interfere with their future aspirations and less likely to associate with substance-using peers; they also use less tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana (Henry et al, 2005;Shears, Edwards, & Stanley, 2006). School bonding has been found to mediate the effects of self-control on substance use (Wang, Matthew, Bellamy, & James, 2005).…”