Evolution of Drug Consumption in a Sample of Adolescents: The Predictive Capacity of the Genesis Model

Abstract

This paper analyzes the predictive capacity of the genesis model for drug consumption constructed by the authors in an attempt to identify the characteristics of a drug consumption risk population. Several years’ research have shown the model's validity in explaining drug consumption, a behavior understood as one of the many for possible use by adolescents to adapt to the environment in which they develop. The potential for behavior which deviates from the norm depends on a variety of factors considered in the model (including level of self-control, attitudes to drugs, or the existence of peers to reinforce such behavior). The predictive capacity of the model is analyzed in a longitudinal study carried out on a sample of 476 students (238 men and 238 women).

Key Words:

• Longitudinal study
• Genesis of drug consumption
• Self-control
• Deviant behaviors
• Adaptation