Drug Progression Model: A Social Control Test

Abstract

A social control drug progression model was delineated and tested using a sample of 2,626 high school students from the southwestern United States. Along with the social control constructs of parental attachment, educational attachment, religious attachment, and conventional values, we incorporated alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use into the model as intervening variables. The model explains 39% of the variation in the self-reported amphetamine use and 24% of the variation in “hard drug” use (cocaine, heroin, LSD, and PCP). The findings suggest that the integration of social control theory and drug progression improves the predictive power of the model of adolescent drug use.

Key Words:

• Drug progression
• Drugs
• Social control
• Adolescent drug use
• Theory testing