Cultural Patterns and Causal Processes in Adolescent Drug Use: The Case of Greeks Versus Americans

Abstract

Patterns of adolescent drug use in Greece (N = 174) and the United States (N = 2, 610) are compared. The rates of self-reported lifetime alcohol and cigarette use are rather similar. For other drugs (marijuana, amphetamines, depressants, cocaine, LSD, PCP, and heroin) there is much more drug use in the United States. A causal model employing variables from social control and social learning theories is applied to drug use in both samples. We conclude that American theories of adolescent deviance assume certain cultural conditions, and therefore may need revision before they can be fruitfully applied to the behavior of young people in other cultures.