Early Adolescent Social Networks and Substance Use

Tim Berce, Zala Dolenc, Jan Fizovič, Tina Rozman, Matic Virant

DI-UNI, 17.4.2012

Research: David B. Henry & Kimberly Kobus, University of Chicago

Sample of 1000 youth

Divided in 3 groups: members, liasons, isolates

Results of other researches

Ennet and Bauman, 1993

Fang, 2003

First limitation

Second methodological limitation

Members of triadic tiesTriadic ties :

Legend:

- individual

Third limitation

Studies defined social positions on the basis one-way ties.

Hypothesis• Social positions are related to adolescent use of tobacco,

alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants.• Isolates would more likely use tobacco and inhalants.• Members would use marijuana and a

Participants

1,119 sixth-grade children from 144 classes

14 public schools

the sample was divided between male and female students

African American, White, and Hispanic children

Measures

friendship - the peer nomination inventory

Procedure: each student - printed page displaying a list of all boys and girls in his or her classroom

student crossed off every name that fit the question asked by the assessor

after the first year of the study, the inventory also included an item asking participants to identify their three best friends

this item is typically used in classroom network analysis

limiting youth to three nominations has been criticized for not accurately modeling actual network structures

rather than limiting nominations to three, they used the item “Who would you like to be your best friends?”

Substance use.

involvement in substance use was measured using an abbreviated version of the Self-Report of Delinquency adapted from the Denver Youth Study

measure asked youth about the frequency of 25 delinquent acts ranging from school truancy to drug use

four items tapping the frequency of substance use were analyzed in this study

Procedures

participants completed the measures at their school desks

classroom teacher was not in the room at the time of administration

Students without parental consent were assigned alias IDs that allowed their data to be used in network analysis without identifying them or linking their data to other study data

Risk of substance use

Increase (odds > 1.0)

Decrease (odds < 1.0)

Only gender difference in use of marijuana (odds ratio = 0.5 f/m)

Ethnic differences on alcohol and inhalant use African American (1.88 vs. Caucasian Hispanic (1.63 vs. Caucasian)

Participants in large city half the risk

Tobacco use: 15% isolates 16% members 21% liaisons.

Alcohol use: 46%liaisons 34% isolates

No effects of social network

position on marijuana or

inhalant use.

Social status is a factor in youth drug abuse.

Associating with others

Self medication

Group acceptance

Isolation

Ethnicity, residence

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