Risky Behaviors among Adolescents in the Midwest: Personal Gratification or Peer Pressure?.

The present study was a cross-sectional examination of the causes of adolescent participation in risky behaviors, using a diverse sample of adolescents from a Midwestern state. This research compared the relative effects of a traditional explanation of deviant behavior, differential association theory, with a modern derivative, nonsocial reinforcement theory. Quantitative data were collected via questionnaires in the spring of 1998 from 86 students at a public high school, 12 students from a for-profit high school, and 16 students from a detention facility for status offenders. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent of their involvement with cigarettes, alcohol, and various drugs. The multiple linear regression results indicated that while both differential association and nonsocial reinforcement had statistically significant effects on involvement with drugs and alcohol in this sample, nonsocial reinforcement theory had a stronger explanatory effect than differential association. Further, contrary to official statistics, neither gender, race, or social class had a statistically significant effect upon engagement in the risk-taking behaviors in this study. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/KB) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** Risky Behaviors Among Adolescents in the Midwest: Personal Gratification or Peer Pressure? David C. May Joe D. Nichols Patricia L. Eltzroth Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 1999 These data were collected as part of the Indiana High School Youth Study in the Spring of 1998. Dr. David May was the principal investigator for the project. Please do not cite or reprint without permission from the lead author. He can be reached at: David May, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 Coliseum Blvd. East, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. Phone219- 481-6531; Fax219-481-6346; email-mayd@ipfw.edu. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 2 Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BESTCOPYAVAILABLE PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY OO. /. c C . rmai TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Abstract The present study was a cross-sectional examination of the causes of participation in risky behaviors using a diverse sample of adolescents from a Midwestern state. This research compared the relative effects of a traditional explanation of deviant behavior, differential association theory, with a modern derivative, nonsocial reinforcement theory. Quantitative data were collected via questionnaires in the spring of 1998 from 114 adolescents at a public high school and two alternative educational settings. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent of their use of cigarettes, alcohol, and various drugs in the past few years. The multiple linear regression results from this study indicated that while both differential association and nonsocial reinforcement had statistically significant effects on involvement with drugs and alcohol in this sample, differential association theory had a stronger explanatory effect than nonsocial reinforcement. Further, contrary to official statistics, neither gender, race, or social class had a statistically significant effect upon engagement in adolescent risk-taking behaviors in this study. The present study was a cross-sectional examination of the causes of participation in risky behaviors using a diverse sample of adolescents from a Midwestern state. This research compared the relative effects of a traditional explanation of deviant behavior, differential association theory, with a modern derivative, nonsocial reinforcement theory. Quantitative data were collected via questionnaires in the spring of 1998 from 114 adolescents at a public high school and two alternative educational settings. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent of their use of cigarettes, alcohol, and various drugs in the past few years. The multiple linear regression results from this study indicated that while both differential association and nonsocial reinforcement had statistically significant effects on involvement with drugs and alcohol in this sample, differential association theory had a stronger explanatory effect than nonsocial reinforcement. Further, contrary to official statistics, neither gender, race, or social class had a statistically significant effect upon engagement in adolescent risk-taking behaviors in this study. The implications of these findings are discussed. Risky Behaviors Among Adolescents in the Midwest: Personal Gratification or Peer Pressure? In recent years, school and community agencies have struggled to understand various risk- involved behaviors among youth. With the general perception among adults (often fueled by the media) that youth today are more heavily involved in deviant behavior and crime than youth in the past, the exploration of risky behavior among youth has become an important yet volatile area of study. Further, with the recent volatile acts of deviant and violent behavior within local public schools (i.e., Colorado, Georgia) it becomes increasingly important to adequately describe and define those factors that are commonly associated with risky and deviant adolescent behavior. Current evidence does seem to indicate that youth today are more heavily involved in at least some risky behaviors than in the past. One in three (34 percent) youth 12 to 17 years of age have smoked cigarettes, and more than half of all youths who smoke have their first cigarette before the age of 12. Furthermore, even though the drinking age is 21 in all states, 41 percent of youth aged 12 to 17 have consumed alcohol in their lifetime (Greenfeld, 1998) and 71 percent of high school seniors have used alcohol in the past twelve months (Kaufman, Chen, Choy, Chandler, Chapman, Rand, and Ringel, 1998). Incidences of drinking and driving and fatalities related to this behavior have also increased in recent years. In 1996, there were over 42,000 arrests for driving while intoxicated (DWI) among those 18 years of age and under (Greenfeld, 1998). Consequently, the juvenile arrest rates for drunkenness, liquor law violations, and driving under the influence all increased between 31 and 35 percent between 1993 and 1997 (Snyder,