School-Level Correlates of Adolescent Tobacco, Alcohol, and Marijuana Use

Abstract

Background School-level characteristics are related to students’ substance use, but little research systematically examined multiple school characteristics in relation to different types of substance use across grade levels. Objectives This study examines multiple school-level characteristics as correlates of students’ tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and combined substance use across three grade levels. Methods Students (N = 23,615) from 42 urban and suburban middle schools and 24 high schools in the U.S. reported on their tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Students’ mean age was 14 years; 47% were male, 53% African American and 41% Caucasian. School-level data included poverty, racial composition, academic achievement, student-teacher ratio, absenteeism, and school size. Multilevel logistic and Poisson regressions tested associations between school-level predictors and adolescent substance use in middle school, early high school and late high school. Results School-level poverty, more ethnic minority students, low achievement, and higher absenteeism were related to alcohol, marijuana and combined substance use, particularly at lower grade levels. By contrast, cigarette smoking was more prevalent in more affluent high schools with more White students. After adjusting for other school characteristics, absenteeism emerged as the most consistent predictor of student substance use. Conclusions/Importance Interventions addressing absenteeism and truancy in middle and high schools may help prevent student substance use. Schools serving poor, urban, and mostly minority students may benefit from interventions targeting alcohol and marijuana use, whereas interventions focusing on tobacco use prevention may be more relevant for schools serving more affluent and predominantly White students.

Consumption of alcohol and drugs and school absenteeism among high school students of public schools

“…The significant association between the consumption of alcohol (p<0.0001), tobacco (p<0.0001), inhalants (p=0.005) and marijuana (p=0.010) with school absenteeism over the past 30 days before data collection corroborated with data from national and international studies (6,16).…”

“…We found similarities between the association between marijuana consumption and school problems and studies conducted in Australia (15) , France (14) , and the United States of America (16) . These studies perceive this association between marijuana and alcohol and/or tobacco as a behavior of risk.…”

“…Sometimes it is possible to note a significant association between school absenteeism, low school performance, and school dropout with the use of psychoactive substances, particularly alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana (14) . These school problems can lead to suicide attempts, drug addiction, cerebrovascular accidents and diseases in adulthood (14) , which in the long term, can prevent these students from entering the job market and having more job opportunities (15) , besides also developing mental disorders, criminal (4) , violent and aggressive behaviors, and sexual behaviors of risk (16) . In this study, the school absenteeism rate was of 36.2% (102), i.e.…”

One explanation to rule them all? Identifying sub‐groups of non‐drinking Swedish ninth graders

“…These have also been identified in a recent meta‐analysis as important factors for adolescent alcohol misuse . Another important factor previously found is peer use , measured here with one variable, and truancy , which is measured here with one variable. Availability is also a factor commonly found to be influencing consumption and is measured here as the self‐reported perceived availability of alcohol.…”

Student Profiles and Academic Achievement in Mexican Middle Schools

“…Thus, cognitive strategies for study were the highest contributor to the final solution, and the age of entry into elementary education had the least impact. As for the strategies, higher stud included s comprised goal-orien experience (Hill & Mrug, 2015;Sung et al, 2016), and considered these substances harmful to health. In addition, their attitude toward personal healthcare and the environment is positive, which leads to a healthy diet and more regular exercise (Pellicer et al, 2015).…”