An Integrated Model of Juvenile Drug Use: A Cross-Demographic Groups Study

This study tests the applicability of an integrated model of deviance – social bonding and learning theories – to drug use among a representative sample of U.S. adolescents (12-17 years old). A structural equation model (SEM) was estimated across all subgroups (age, race, and gender) as well as the overall group. The relationships between exogenous variables (social bond and delinquent peer) and endogenous variables (delinquent peer and drug use) were significant and in the hypothesized direction for the overall group and for each subgroup. The results also showed some differences and similarities across demographic groups. The explained variance in substance use ranged from 0.27 to 0.48. Applications for future study are also discussed.