Families versus peers: Developmental influences on drug use from grade 4–5 to grade 7–8

Abstract

This study examined the relative influence of family and peers on abusable substance use, and whether relative influences on problem behaviors are behavior specific as children move from pre- to early adolescence. In 1988–1989, urban public school students in Grades 4–5 completed a substance abuse survey. The survey was repeated in each of the following 3 years into Grades 7–8; 1,802 students, of whom 91% were black, participated on all four occasions. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with cross-validation. Perceived family use was a stronger influence on abusable substance use relative to perceived peer use when the students were younger, whereas perceived peer use had more influence when they were older. Prior use predicted perceived family as well as perceived peer use. Varying direct and indirect pathways predicted licit drug use, illicit drug use, and other problem behaviors in Grades 7 and 8, although perceived peer use predicted all three. The results suggest that the relative shift from the influence of families to peers observed among adolescents is consistent among younger urban children. Drug use predisposes children toward greater perceptions of drug use among families and peers, and relative influences on problem behaviors may vary with the specific behavior. Interventions should begin in elementary school as the influence on students is shifting from family toward peers.