A Multivariate Social-Psychological Approach to the Prediction of Psychoactive Drug Use in Young Adults

Abstract

This research develops and tests a comprehensive social-psychological model which is capable of predicting individual differences in psychoactive drug use. A questionnaire assessing drug use, opportunities for goal attainment, normative constraints against deviance, perceived opportunities for drug use, attitudinal tolerance of deviance, and expectations about the consequences of drug use was administered to two separate subject populations: a “College Sample” and a “Street Sample.” Consistent with predictions, the more extensive an individual's drug use: (1) the less the participation in prosocial groups, (2) the greater the perceived opportunities for drug use, (3) the more time spent using drugs with friends, (4) the greater the tolerance of deviance, and (5) the more positive the expectations about drug use. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the model for the prediction of patterns of drug use and the need for expanding the schema in future research to include measures of socialization practices.