ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This survey study explores the relationship between area-specific perceived self-competence, perceived social support, gender, and substance use in young adolescents. METHOD: Questionnaires were administered to 140 male and 131 female adolescents attending middle school to assess self-perception of competencies, social support, and substance use. Correlations were performed between the predictor variables and the substance use measures. Hierarchical multiple regressions were also used to identify potential interactions between gender, perceived competencies, and perceived social support in the prediction of specific substances. RESULTS: Higher perceived scholastic competence was associated with less substance use in both genders. In boys, more perceived support from teachers, and to a lesser degree parents, was associated with less substance use, particularly in those with low scholastic competence. In girls, social support was unrelated to substance use except for support from classmates, which was associated with more cigarette and marijuana use. However, in girls with low scholastic competence, more support from peers was consistently associated with more substance use. CONCLUSIONS: The gender differences in risk factors for early substance use identified in this study deserve further investigation, in view of their potential relevance for adolescent substance abuse prevention and early intervention.
Subject(s)
Achievement , Gender Identity , Self Concept , Social Support , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adolescent , Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control , Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Child , Female , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Marijuana Abuse/prevention & control , Marijuana Abuse/psychology , Peer Group , Personality Development , Smoking/psychology , Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & controlABSTRACT
The authors compared 9-, 16-, 26-, and 52-week outcomes for two randomly assigned groups of nicotine-dependent subjects: 1) nicotine patch plus four smoking cessation sessions with a nurse-practitioner giving advice and instruction (n = 36; moderate-intensity condition, MI); or 2) the foregoing treatments plus 16 weekly individual cognitive/ behavioral relapse-prevention therapy sessions (n = 33; high-intensity condition, HI). Patch completion rates were 69.7% in the HI group and 55.6% in the MI group (NS). Self-reported abstinence rates at the four follow-up points were comparable for the two treatment groups; HI: 39%, 36%, 36%, and 36%; MI: 44%, 28%, 25%, and 28%, respectively. There was some indication that MI patients with high nicotine dependence had lower abstinence rates than highly dependent HI patients.