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Published on: April 28, 2022
Relationship between perceived life satisfaction and adolescents' substance abuse
K J Zullig1, R F Valois, E S Huebner
1Department of Health Promotion & Education, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Purpose:
To explore the relationship between perceived global life satisfaction and selected substance use behaviors among 5032 public high school students.
Methods:
The 1997 South Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey substance abuse and life satisfaction variables were used. An adjusted polychotomous logistic regression analysis utilizing SAS/SUDAAN, revealed a significant race/gender interaction. Subsequent multivariate models were constructed individually for four race/gender groups. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to assess the magnitude of risk for selected substance abuse behaviors and their association with reduced global life satisfaction.
Results:
Cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, regular alcohol use, binge drinking, injection drug, and steroid use were significantly (p < .05) associated with reduced life satisfaction for specific race/gender groups (white males; black males; white females; and black females). In addition, age (< or = 13 years) of first alcohol drink, first marijuana use, first cocaine use, and first cigarette smoked were also significantly (p < .05) associated with reduced life satisfaction.
Conclusion:
Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether dissatisfaction with life is a consequence or determinant of substance abuse behavior for adolescents.
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