Abstract
BackgroundThis paper explores whether at different stages of the developmental cycle of adolescence, drug use and offending are associated with a similar set of risk factors relating to: socio-structural position, informal social control, deviant peer group contexts, and deviant lifestyle behaviours. MethodsMultivariate regression was used to analyse data from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC) self-report questionnaire. ResultsEarly in the teenage years drug use was associated with a similar set of factors to offending. These include weak bonds to parents and teachers, and deviant lifestyle behaviours. However, later in the teenage years there were differences, e.g. drug use was associated with higher socio-economic status and importance of school, and a number of factors which were associated with offending were not associated with drug use, e.g. parent–child conflict, gang membership and hanging around. ConclusionResults show that the factors included here are more appropriate to understanding offending than drug use. Different risk factors are associated with drug use and offending in the older, but not younger teens. It is argued that later in the teenage years drug use should be understood and addressed differently to offending. This is particularly important given the tendency for the ‘drugs problem’ to increasingly be dealt with as a ‘crime problem’ (Duke, 2006).
Highlights
This paper explores whether at different stages of the developmental cycle of adolescence, drug use and offending are associated with a similar set of risk factors relating to: sociostructural position, informal social control, deviant peer group contexts, and deviant lifestyle behaviours
There have been some geographically specific UK based longitudinal self-report studies (North West Longitudinal Study, Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study, and the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime) the vast majority of studies which have looked at the relationship between drug use and offending over the teenage years are US based (e.g. National Youth Survey, Monitoring the Future) and these tend to focus on establishing the direction of causal effect, rather than offering substantive explanations for the relationship
This paper explores cross-sectional associations between factors relating to socio-demography, informal social control, deviant peer group context and deviant lifestyles and drug use and offending amongst the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC) cohort, at different points during the teenage years
Summary
This paper explores whether at different stages of the developmental cycle of adolescence, drug use and offending are associated with a similar set of risk factors relating to: sociostructural position, informal social control, deviant peer group contexts, and deviant lifestyle behaviours. It is argued that later in the teenage years drug use should be understood and addressed differently to offending This is important given the tendency for the ‘drugs problem’ to increasingly be dealt with as a ‘crime problem’ (Duke, 2006). There have been some geographically specific UK based longitudinal self-report studies (North West Longitudinal Study, Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study, and the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime) the vast majority of studies which have looked at the relationship between drug use and offending over the teenage years are US based (e.g. National Youth Survey, Monitoring the Future) and these tend to focus on establishing the direction of causal effect, rather than offering substantive explanations for the relationship. In search of ‘true causal relations’ there is a tendency for research to view potential explanatory factors as ‘confounding factors’ to be controlled for (for example, see Macleod et al.’s 2004 systematic review)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
