| Description |
The current study investigated the relationship between individual adolescent drug use, friends' drug use, and school, family, and community prosocial environments. Survey data from the 2007 SHARP survey collected from schools in a western state were analyzed to better understand the relationship between the aforementioned variables. A total of 10,767 eighth grade student surveys were used in the analysis. Single-level logistic regression analyses were then conducted with the dataset and results indicated a significant positive relationship between peer substance use and adolescents' own individual substance use, which is consistent with prior substance abuse research. Analyses also indicated that school, family, and community prosocial environment did act as protective factors by reducing the likelihood of adolescent drug use; however, these factors did not significantly moderate the relationship between friends' drug use and eighth grade adolescent drug use, although community and family prosocial environment interaction variables did approach statistical significance. Results from the present study indicate that drug use by adolescents' friends is a significant risk factor that appears to contribute to eighth grade adolescent substance use at a level that may not be easily reduced. Future research on prosocial environments that includes a more diverse sample, a variety of age groups, and multiple measures may provide a better understanding of these protective factors. |
