Racial differences in risk factors for delinquency and substance use among adolescents

Abstract

Risk factors for delinquency and substance use were used to explore racial differences in a sample of 567 adolescents. Factors used in this study included beliefs, peer and sibling influences, school attachment and commitment, family relationships, and academic and social skills. Data from surveys administered at ages 12 and 13 were used to predict delinquent and substance-using behaviors reported at ages 15 and 16. Multiple-group longitudinal analyses were conducted to test models in explaining race differences. Patterns and paths of the risk factors demonstrated a similarity across both substance use and delinquency for both groups. Some different paths were detected in the substance-use model across groups. Intervention implications of these findings are discussed. Key words: adolescents; delinquency; racial differences; risk factors; substance use Research has identified interpersonal and contextual risk factors that are predictive of increased probabilities of adolescent delinquency and substance use (Farrington & West, 1993; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992; Resnicow, Ross-Gaddy, & Vaughan, 1995; Stouthamer-Loeber, Loeber, & Farrington, 1993; Williams, 1994). The level and amount of exposure to risk factors are hypothesized to lead youths on a pathway for involvement in problem behaviors (Barnes & Welte, 1986; Carpenter, Lyons, & Miller, 1985; Maddahian, Newcomb, & Bentler, 1986). Interpersonal risk factors that are influential in shaping behavior and setting values often are found in an adolescent's environment (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992; Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986). Such risk factors include favorable attitudes toward problem behaviors, association with antisocial peers and siblings, low bonding and low commitment to school, and academic failure (Brook, Brook, Gordon, Whiteman, & Cohen, 1990; Catalano & Hawkins, 1996; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). Researchers also have investigated the effects of positive influences that inhibit the onset of or modify problem behaviors (Farrington & West, 1993; Rutter, 1985, 1990; Stouthamer-Loeber et al., 1993; Werner, 1989). Protective factors, or buffers, are hypothesized to reduce the influence of risk factors on behavior, thus helping reduce involvement in delinquency and substance use (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). Intervention and prevention strategies can seek to address risk by enhancing positive influences. Few studies have explored racial differences in risk factors either cross-sectionally or longitudinally. However, earlier research has shown that the constructs of peer influence, school, and family have components that distinguish African American youths from white youths (Maguin & Loeber, 1996; Peterson, Hawkins, Abbott, & Catalano, 1995; Wallace & Bachman, 1991; Williams, 1994). For example, earlier studies have found that peer relationships are more important for white youths in influencing alcohol and or drug use and delinquent behavior (Brannock, Schandler, & Oncley, 1990; Matsueda & Heimer, 1987), that racial differences in academic performance predict delinquency (Maguin & Loeber, 1996), and that the number of siblings involved in problem behaviors and parental norms regarding problem behaviors differ across racial groups (Brook, Gordon, Whiteman, & Brook, 1988; Peterson et al., 1995). The study discussed in this article investigated racial differences in risk Factors of delinquency and substance use, incorporating theoretical concepts from social bonding, social learning, and differential association theories. Social bonding theory states that lack of bonding to prosocial individuals predicts deviant behavior. Social bonding theory proposes four constructs of bonding to others: attachment, commitment, involvement, and beliefs that control the individual in the direction of conformity. This theory postulates that the stronger the bonds the more control, the weaker the bonds the higher probability of antisocial behavior (Agnew, 1985, 1993; Hirschi, 1969). …