Drug use in adolescents in relation to social support and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior / Consumo de drogas en adolescentes y su relación con el apoyo social y las conductas agresivas reactivas y proactiva

BACKGROUND: Aggressive behavior in adolescents, along with drug use, has become one of the great issues in education in recent years, among other things, due to its relationship with school failure and delinquency. The purpose of this paper was to find out whether social support fulfils a basic role in decision-making on drug use and the behavior of adolescents. METHOD: 822 high school students participated in the study (M = 14.84, SD = 0.87). Data were collected with the Peer Conflict Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and an ad hoc questionnaire on drug use. RESULTS: The results show that drug use is significantly related to reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. It was also observed that higher use is significantly related to perceived social support by the peer group, and less support by family. DISCUSSION: It was shown that substance use is related to perceived social support by the adolescent's peer group and to aggressive behavior. It is therefore necessary to intervene in both respects to avoid the presence of substance use in schools

ANTECEDENTES: la presencia de conductas agresivas en los adolescentes, unido al consumo de drogas, se ha situado en los últimos años como una de las grandes problemáticas dentro del ámbito educativo. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la relación de la agresividad y el apoyo social con el consumo de alcohol y tabaco, dos de las drogas más frecuentes entre los jóvenes. MÉTODO: en el estudio han participado 822 adolescentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (M = 14,84; DT = 0,87). Para recoger los datos se ha utilizado el Peer Conflict Scale, la Escala Multidimensional de Apoyo Social Percibido y un cuestionario realizado ad hoc de consumo de drogas. RESULTADOS: los resultados mostraron que el consumo de drogas está relacionado con las conductas agresivas tanto reactivas como proactivas. Asimismo, se observó que a mayor consumo mayor es también el apoyo social percibido por parte del grupo de iguales, y menor apoyo por parte de la familia. DISCUSIÓN: los resultados obtenidos se discuten en relación a la necesidad de intervenir en estas áreas para evitar la presencia de consumo de sustancias en los centros educativos

Drug use in adolescents in relation to social support and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior.

BACKGROUND: Aggressive behavior in adolescents, along with drug use, has become one of the great issues in education in recent years, among other things, due to its relationship with school failure and delinquency. The purpose of this paper was to find out whether social support fulfils a basic role in decision-making on drug use and the behavior of adolescents. METHOD: 822 high school students participated in the study (M = 14.84, SD = 0.87). Data were collected with the Peer Conflict Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and an ad hoc questionnaire on drug use. RESULTS: The results show that drug use is significantly related to reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. It was also observed that higher use is significantly related to perceived social support by the peer group, and less support by family. DISCUSSION: It was shown that substance use is related to perceived social support by the adolescent’s peer group and to aggressive behavior. It is therefore necessary to intervene in both respects to avoid the presence of substance use in schools.