Teen Pregnancy, Depression, and Substance Abuse: The Conditioning Effect of Deviant Peers

ABSTRACT

General Strain Theory (GST) suggests that individuals who experience strain are pressured into criminal and deviant behavior. Consistent with GST, the current study assesses the relationship between strain in the form of teenage pregnancy and substance use behavior, specifically alcohol problems and marijuana use. In addition, deviant peer association is a robust predictor of criminal behavior, therefore, we also investigate the role of deviant peers in the coping process among females who experience teenage pregnancy. Data for the analysis were obtained from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to Adult Health (Add Health). In a sample of 5,236 adolescent females drawn from Waves I and II, results show that teenage pregnancy is a significant predictor of depression and substance use involvement. Furthermore, a 3-way-interaction effect was observed, specifically teenage pregnancy, association with deviant peers, and depression was a significant predictor of substance use behaviors. Implications for theory, research, and social programs for teen parents are discussed.

Notes

¹ To assess the slope invariance between two unstandardized regression slope coefficients, the z-test was used (Paternoster et al. 1998: 862): $Z=\frac{b_1-b_2}{\sqrt{SE{b}_1^2+SE{b}_2^2}}.$

Additional information

Notes on contributors

D’Andre Walker

D’Andre Walker is an assistant professor in the Department of Legal Studies at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University in 2018. His work has appeared in the Journal of Child & Family Studies and the Journal of Criminal Justice.

Kristy Holtfreter

Kristy Holtfreter is a professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Faculty Affiliate in the Women and Gender Studies Program at Arizona State University. She received her Ph.D. in 2004 from Michigan State University. Her research has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Criminology, Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, and Criminal Justice & Behavior. She is the Editor of Feminist Criminology, the official journal of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime.