THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL IMAGES OF SUBSTANCE USERS IN CHILDREN: A GUTTMAN UNIDIMENSIONAL SCALING APPROACH.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: The purpose of this paper was to examine the development of social images or prototypes of cigarette, alcohol and marijuana users among children in the 1(st) through 8th grade using a Guttman unidimensional scaling approach. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 1075 1(st) through 5(th) grade children who completed annual assessments for four years. FINDINGS: The properties of a Guttman scale consisting of three sequential prototypes, (a) popular, (b) popular and exciting, and (c) popular, exciting and cool, were within acceptable limits for all three substances for 2nd through 8th graders, suggesting that these prototypes were scaleable and represented a single dimension. Prototypes became more positive after the 5th grade and varied by gender. Prototypes, moderated by age and gender, were related to intention to use substances in the future. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that children's prototypes of substance users are unidimensional and cumulative for all three substances and that they develop sequentially. The relation of prototypes to intention among children in the 2(nd) through the 8(th) grade support the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Prototype/Willingness model, but suggest incorporating age and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Children as young as 2(nd) grade can reliably make valid judgments about attributes of kids who use substances. Results of this study have both theoretical and practical implications.