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Associations between community attachments and adolescent substance use in nationally representative samples
Laura Wray-Lake1, Jennifer L Maggs, Lloyd D Johnston
1School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California 91711, USA. laura.wray-lake@cgu.edu
Summary
Adolescents with stronger community attachments, including social trust, social responsibility, and religiosity, showed lower rates of substance use. These findings support integrating community-based programs into adolescent substance use prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Social capital and attachment theories propose that strong societal bonds and conventional values reduce adolescent substance use.
- This study investigates the relationship between community attachments and adolescent substance use behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that adolescents' community attachments (social trust, social responsibility, religiosity) are negatively associated with lifetime and 30-day substance use.
- To examine the unique contributions of different aspects of community attachment to substance use prevention.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nationally representative data from the Monitoring the Future Study (1976-2008) with over 64,000 high school seniors.
- Employed multiple linear and logistic regressions to analyze associations between social trust, social responsibility, religiosity, and various substance use measures.
- Controlled for demographic and academic factors including gender, race, parental education, and academic performance.
Main Results:
- Social trust, social responsibility, and religiosity were independently associated with lower use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs.
- Adolescents reporting stronger community attachments exhibited reduced lifetime and 30-day substance use, even after controlling for covariates.
- Social responsibility showed no association with binge drinking or non-marijuana illicit drug use.
Conclusions:
- Distinct components of adolescent community attachment are uniquely linked to reduced substance use.
- Findings suggest that promoting community attachments can be a valuable public health strategy for adolescent substance use prevention.
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