Abstract
Although self-esteem has traditionally been considered as an important correlate of psychosocial adjustment, some empirical studies have found a positive relationship between some domains of self-esteem and drug use among adolescents. The present study analyzes self-esteem and other adjustment personal indicators as protective or risk factors for substance use. Participants were 644 Spanish adolescents aged 12–17 years. Substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs), multidimensional self-esteem (academic, social, emotional, family, and physical), and other indicators of adolescents’ well-being and ill-being (psychological problems, behavior problems, and parenting) were measured. We observed, on the one hand, that substance use had a significant negative relationship with academic, family, and physical self-esteem. On the other hand, we also observed a significant positive relationship between drug use and social self-esteem. However, this significant relationship disappeared after statistically controlling for sex and age, using both partial correlation analyses and covariance analysis. Interestingly, beyond the importance of each factor related to drugs, prevention science should first of all be able to identify whether the main psychological variables (e.g., social or physical self-esteem) are risk or protective factors for drug use.
Highlights
The WHO warns about drug use as a one of the most important health problems [1]
Self-esteem has been traditionally considered as an important correlate of psychosocial adjustment and, as a protective factor against drug use [14,22,23,24]; by contrast, some empirical studies have found that some self-esteem dimensions are risk factors [40,41,42,44]
Considering the current biopsychosocial perspective that defends the importance of psychological well-being for full health [1,6,7], the aim of this study was to analyze self-esteem and other adolescent well-being and ill-being indicators as protective or risk factors for drug use in adolescents, in order to provide explanations for the inconsistencies in the research findings
Summary
The WHO warns about drug use as a one of the most important health problems [1]. In addition, findings from international surveys conducted in the United States and Europe revealed a greater prevalence of drug use among adolescents, which might be related to serious health problems in the short term and to long-term adverse consequences in adulthood [2,3,4,5]. An outdated biomedical approach to illness and disease has been evolving toward a current biopsychosocial perspective that defends the importance of psychological well-being for full health; biomedical health is necessary, but it is not enough, for full health [6,7] Along these lines, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [8], drug use, in addition to leading to the possible development of substance-related and addictive disorders, is an important risk factor in the onset of different mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorders [9,10,11,12]. Among many other factors that influence human behavior, low self-esteem seems to be a common characteristic of these maladjusted behaviors and an important component, not the only one, to improve in different psychological interventions [16,17,18]
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