Running head: Risk and Protective factors associated with Alcohol, Cigarette and Marijuana use during Adolescence.

Risk and Protective factors:

the effects of specific substances on adolescence.

Sheldon Harrison

Psychology LD10, Substance Use

Professor S. Williams

Fall 2008, Article #4

Researchers have studied the risk and protective factors associated with Alcohol, Cigarette and Marijuana use during Adolescence. Also they studied to determine if there were differences in risk and protective factors depending on the magnitude of their association with the previously mentioned substances. It was believed that substance use by adolescence had an effect on an individual’s whole cognitive functions, increases risk of crimes and maybe even death. It was also proven that the total economic cost of drug abuse was quite costly. Hence this research was deemed highly beneficial. In this study of risk and protective factors by Graves, Fernandez, Shelton, Frabutt and Williford (2005), both 11 – 17 year old male and female adolescent individuals were observed in the experiment. Results showed that cigarettes were the highest used substance, and also that there was a high correlation among the three substances. The predictions were that higher frequencies of substance use would be higher for older adolescence, adolescent males and those with a history of parental criminal involvement (Graves et al., 2005).

Correlation method: For this study, participants were chosen from a subset of adolescents from an Organization known as NC FACES (North Carolina Families and Communities Equals Success). Their ages ranged from 11- 17 years old and over 500 of them along with parents participated. Of that 500, at least 376 of them were 11 years old. Nearly half of them were later eliminated, due to missing data as it related to substance use or protective factors. The number then went down to 271 adolescent along with their caregivers. This 271 consisted of 69% male, 31% female, 40% were identified as being Black, 54% as being White and the remaining 6% as Hispanic or other. The Participants were interviewed by trained evaluators who conducted in-home interviews lasting 2 hours, to ensure confidentiality; the adolescent interview was separate from the caregiver. Prior to the interviews, consent forms were read and questions answered. Caregiver reports were used and given in the form of questionnaires, namely the Demographic Information Questionnaire (DIQ) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). These assessed a combination of children and family characteristics as well as emotional and behavioral problems. To gather information as it relates to substance use, a Substance Use Survey was used. This questionnaire asked specific questions about the use of 12 different substances ranging from alcohol to non-prescription drugs. The questions asked how old they were when they used the substance, and how often it was used in the past 30 days. Of the 12 substances the more prevalent were alcohol, cigarette and marijuana, most of the questions were geared to responses from those three. Some of the questions were based on a scale of 1 through 7 on how often a specific substance like cigarette was used, one (1) = not at all and seven (7) = more than a pack a day. Other substances like alcohol and marijuana were measured on a more varied scale, from zero (0) through to two (2). Zero (0) = never used, One (1) = occasional use and Two (2) = frequent use (Graves et al., 2005).

The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) was used to assess Family Involvement and School Functioning. This was based on a 4 point scale, from 0 = the behavior was not at all like the child through to 3 = the behavior was very much like the child. All items within the subscales were summed to arrive at composite scores. High scores indicated positive increases in the components measured. The levels of parent- child communication and general functioning were assessed by the Family Assessment Device (FAD). This was measured on a 5 point scale, 0 = strongly disagree through to 4 = strongly agree (Graves et al., 2005).

Results: There were three tables used to show statistics of the results, the first table gave a descriptive and frequency analyses and indicated the most frequently used substance was cigarette. It also indicted that although adolescents were more likely to experiment with cigarettes and marijuana, they continued the use of cigarette and alcohol compared to marijuana after trying it for the first time. Correlations were shown when frequent alcohol consumptions were positively correlated with frequency of both marijuana and cigarette use over the past 30 days. Another positive correlation shown was between frequent cigarette use and frequent marijuana use over the past 30 days (Graves et al., 2005).

For each substance, a series of three hierarchical regression models predicting associations with substance use was conducted. A thirty day duration was applied to each substance as well. For alcohol, older adolescents reported more frequent use over younger adolescents. It proved they were more likely to use alcohol if they were already using cigarette and alcohol. There was a main effect of parental history of felony as it relates to risk factors, in that higher frequencies were reported for adolescents whose parents were less likely to have committed a felony. Protective factors and alcohol use had no significant relationship. For cigarettes, it was more likely used by adolescents if they already used marijuana and alcohol. Unlike the regression for alcohol use, higher frequencies were seen among adolescents whose parents were more likely to commit felonies. The protective factors associated with behavioral control saw high behavioral control levels linked with lower cigarette use by adolescents. For marijuana, it was more likely used by adolescents if they already used cigarettes and alcohol. Risk factors for adolescents reported more frequent use if their parents used substances. The protective factors were similar to that of cigarettes, where higher behavioral control levels linked with lower marijuana use (Graves et al., 2005).

To summarize, we see where the study measured the risk and protective factors for specific substances. In the discussion section Graves et al. (2005) states

By refining the level of analysis from “substances” to specific types of substances, differential associations with respect to risk and protective factors can be illuminated. That elucidation has the potential to predict more clearly which adolescents are at heightened risk for engagement in specific substance use. (p. 385)

The research also revealed that the earlier adolescents engaged in substance use the earlier they experienced many other psychological and social problems.

In conclusion, I believe this study has been very essential and contributes quite well to the study of psychology. It explores and gives factual evidences of some of the negative effects that are related to specific substance use and substance use on a whole. It has provided insight on the correlations between behaviors in school, with families, parental control and each substance used. I do think this article is a well written one as I found it very informative. This can be justified by examining the detailed breakdown of the different substances and their correlations, as well as the hierarchical regression model that was used to predict the associations with substance use. It is even emphasized that mental health and substance use professionals work closely together to better help adolescents who fall victim to substance use.

References

Graves, K. N., Fernandez, M. E., Shelton, T. L., Frabutt, J. M., & Williford, A. P. (2005). Risk and protective factors associated with Alcohol, Cigarette, and Marijuana use during Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(4), 379-387.