Constructive debate over public policy concerning the use and possession of marvuana is hampered by a lack of adequate empirical tests which assess the relative independent predictive power of theories designed to account for maruuana use. This paper presents a longitudinal study of coliege student maruuana use which allows assessment of the relative utility of certain of these theories. Consistent with prior studies, orientation toward a marijuana-using reference group is the most substantial predictor of mariuana use in this study. Contrary to earlier conclusions based solely on cross-sectional data, maruuana use at follow-up is not related to initial lack of commitment to conventional institutions, directly or indirectly, when statistical controls for other theoretical variables are applied. In addition, psychological distress at follow-up is associated with lower levels of initial marijuana use, when other spurious effects are removed. Finally, degree of involvement in conventional activities is not related to marijuana use. The implications for reinterpretation of previous data are discussed.

Competing theories of marijuana use: a longitudinal study.

Although a causal connection between self-esteem and drug use might make intuitive sense, a critical evaluation of the research calls this relationship into question. The most fatal flaw in the “low self-esteem causes drug use” argument is the fact that only a very small proportion of the variance in drug use is associated with self-esteem across a variety of definitions of self-esteem. In addition, the literature is fraught with methodological and statistical problems that severely limit the conclusions that can be drawn. Methodological problems examined in the article include: measurement of self-esteem, measurement of drug use and abuse, inclusion of confounding variables, and tendency to infer causality from correlational data. Statistical problems explored are: differences between the results of studies employing multivariate and bivariate statistics, failure to report strength of association indices, inflated experimentwise error rate when conducting numerous statistical analyses, failure to collaps...

Is There a Relationship between Self Esteem and Drug Use? Methodological and Statistical Limitations of the Research

Adolescent drug abuse is acknowledged to be a major national problem, yet little is known about adolescent drug treatment programs and their effectiveness. There is, however, a growing body of knowledge on the correlates of adolescent drug use and the kinds of problems presented by adolescents entering treatment. The problems are complex (e.g., involved family situations, multiple drug use patterns, psychological and socioeconomic factors, and the challenge of the adolescent phase of development), and the resources are scarce. Some modest attempts have been made to analyze existing data sets and to evaluate promising treatment approaches and models directed to adolescent drug abusers, and the findings are encouraging. More needs to be done in terms of developing, testing, and evaluating treatment approaches for adolescent substance abusers.

Treatment of Adolescent Drug Abusers

Marihuana and driving among teenagers: Reported use patterns, effects, and experiences related to driving☆

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe components judged important for a community drug education program, to create one strategy, to implement the identified components, and to collect and analyze anecdotal data to determine if the components and the strategy merit further development and research. The drug education strategy was identified by reviewing sixty-eight programs in seven states across the country and by identifying and adapting some of the program dimensions operationalized in the

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Community resources and drug abuse : a strategy for preventive drug education.

The focus of this paper is upon college drug use as it relates to the individual student user. As with the academic dropout, the college drug user is seen as reflecting an emotional problem and pos...

F. E. Schmidt

Papers

Emotional Stability and Student Drug Use