OBJECTIVE: Despite truancy being a common behavior among teenagers, little research has assessed its deleterious effects. In this study, the effect of truancy on the initiation of marijuana use was examined. METHOD: Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (a longitudinal sample of predominantly minority youth), discrete time survival analyses were estimated to assess the effect of truancy on the subsequent initiation of marijuana use. The current analyses used 5 years of panel data collected from youth and their primary caregiver every 6 months throughout adolescence. RESULTS: Truancy was a significant predictor of the initiation of marijuana use during each subsequent 6-month period. The effect was more robust in earlier compared with later adolescence. These effects persisted after controlling for potential risk factors that are shared by both truancy and drug use, including commitment to school, grade-point average, delinquent values, prior involvement in delinquency, peer reactions to delinquency, parental monitoring, affective ties to the child, and positive parenting. CONCLUSIONS: We argue that the effect is, in part, the result of reduced social control (i.e., disengagement from pro-social entities such as school) and, in part, the result of the unsupervised, unmonitored time afforded by truancy. Prevention initiatives aimed at reducing truancy also may have a beneficial impact on preventing the initiation of drug use among adolescents.
OBJECTIVE: Despite truancy being a common behavior among teenagers, little research has assessed its deleterious effects. In this study, the effect of truancy on the initiation of marijuana use was examined. METHOD: Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (a longitudinal sample of predominantly minority youth), discrete time survival analyses were estimated to assess the effect of truancy on the subsequent initiation of marijuana use. The current analyses used 5 years of panel data collected from youth and their primary caregiver every 6 months throughout adolescence. RESULTS: Truancy was a significant predictor of the initiation of marijuana use during each subsequent 6-month period. The effect was more robust in earlier compared with later adolescence. These effects persisted after controlling for potential risk factors that are shared by both truancy and drug use, including commitment to school, grade-point average, delinquent values, prior involvement in delinquency, peer reactions to delinquency, parental monitoring, affective ties to the child, and positive parenting. CONCLUSIONS: We argue that the effect is, in part, the result of reduced social control (i.e., disengagement from pro-social entities such as school) and, in part, the result of the unsupervised, unmonitored time afforded by truancy. Prevention initiatives aimed at reducing truancy also may have a beneficial impact on preventing the initiation of drug use among adolescents.
Authors: Richard Dembo; Rhissa Briones-Robinson; Kimberly Barrett; Ken C Winters; Rocio Ungaro; Lora M Karas; Steven Belenko Journal: J Child Adolesc Subst Abuse Date: 2015-05-11
Authors: Richard Dembo; Jennifer Wareham; James Schmeidler; Rhissa Briones-Robinson; Ken C Winters Journal: J Behav Health Serv Res Date: 2016-07 Impact factor: 1.505
Authors: Richard Dembo; Rhissa Briones-Robinson; Kimberly Barrett; Rocio Ungaro; Ken C Winters; Steven Belenko; Lora M Karas; Laura Gulledge; Jennifer Wareham Journal: J Child Adolesc Subst Abuse Date: 2014
Authors: Alan Meca; Byron L Zamboanga; P Priscilla Lui; Seth J Schwartz; Elma I Lorenzo-Blanco; Melinda A Gonzales-Backen; Miguel Ángel Cano; José Szapocznik; Daniel W Soto; Jennifer B Unger; Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati; Richie Kubilus; Juan A Villamar; Karina M Lizzi Journal: Am J Orthopsychiatry Date: 2019-01-31