NCJ Number
129917
Journal
International Journal of the Addictions Volume: 25 Issue: 5 Dated: (1990) Pages: 531-544
Date Published
1990
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A questionnaire was administered to 194 incarcerated adolescent delinquents from two correctional facilities in Canada and 405 nondelinquent adolescent students residing in youth homes to contrast the prevalence of marijuana use and involvement with marijuana, to examine the utility of an expanded version of Jessor and Jessor's (1977) problem behavior model in predicting adolescent marijuana use, and to test the relative importance of the predictors of marijuana use.
Abstract
Several personality variables were added to the problem behavior model: stimulus reducing/augmenting, ego strength, anxiety, and field dependence. There was a significant difference in marijuana use for the two groups. Delinquents reporting using marijuana more often than nondelinquents. In the multiple regression analysis, the expanded model explained a slightly greater percentage of the variance in adolescent use than the Jessor and Jessor model. The reducer/augmenter dimension of the added personality variables seemed to be a particularly significant predictor. Perceived environment variables measuring pressure from friends to use marijuana and friends as models for marijuana use were the best predictors of marijuana use. 11 references and 5 tables (Author abstract modified)