The influence of assets and environmental factors on gender differences in adolescent drug use

Abstract

For adolescents, illicit drug use remains a significant public health problem. This study explored prospectively the differential effects of 17 youth assets and 5 environmental factors on drug use in adolescent males and females (Youth Asset Study – a 5‐wave longitudinal study of 1117 youth/parent pairs). Baseline analyses included 1093 youth (53% female). Mean age was 14.3 years (SD = 1.6) and the youth were 40% Non‐Hispanic White, 28% Hispanic, 24% Non‐Hispanic Black, and 9% Non‐Hispanic other. Analyses revealed that 16 assets for males and 15 for females as well as the total asset score were prospectively associated with no drug use. No environmental factors were prospectively associated with any drug use for males, and for a subset of females, only Neighborhood Support was significant. This study confirms and extends previous work regarding youth drug use by recognizing the importance of the protective effect of assets for both males and females.

Early adolescent substance use in a national sample of Mexican youths: Demographic characteristics that predict use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

“…Findings were less consistent for age, which appeared to differentially impact substance use among elementary age youth. In contrast to previous findings, younger students (i.e., 5th graders) were more likely to report engaging in illegal substance use (i.e., marijuana, inhalants and other substances), while their older peers (i.e., 6th graders) were more likely to report the use of legalized substances (i.e., alcohol and tobacco; Aspy et al, 2014). However, overage students may be at the greatest risk for substance use in general, potentially due to a rapid escalation of substance use associated advanced pubertal age, which may contribute to greater sensation seeking (Dudovitz et al, 2015).…”

“…In the United States, increases in age are associated with increases in risk for substance use across genders (Aspy, Tolma, Oman, & Vesely, 2014). In Mexico, the age of initiation for alcohol and tobacco use is approximately 13 years old for both boys and girls (Villatoro Velázquez et al, 2016), with the risk for substance use increasing significantly after age 15 (Benjet et al, 2007).…”

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Adolescent Girls’ Substance Use: Data from a Nationwide Facebook Sample

“…4,5,6 Chief among the common pathways are deviant peers and other social influences. 7,8,9 Past prevention efforts have focused largely on improving youths’ skills to resist social influences.…”

“…Although boys and girls share common paths to drug use, gender differences moderate adolescent drug use. [4][5][6] Chief among the common pathways are deviant peers and other social influences. [7][8][9] Past prevention efforts have focused largely on improving youths' skills to resist social influences.…”