Social Self-Control Is a Statistically Nonredundant Correlate of Adolescent Substance Use

ABSTRACT

The social self-control scale (SSCS), which taps provocative behavior in social situations, was compared with five potentially overlapping measures (i.e., temperament-related impulsivity, psychomotor agitation-related self-control, perceived social competence, and rash action in response to negative and positive affectively charged states) as correlates of tobacco use and other drug use among a sample of 3,356 ninth-grade youth in Southern California high schools. While there was a lot of shared variance among the measures, the SSCS was incrementally associated with both categories of drug use over and above alternate constructs previously implicated in adolescent drug use. Hence, SSC may relate to adolescent drug use through an etiological pathway unique from other risk constructs. Given that youth who tend to alienate others through provocative social behavior are at risk for multiple drug use, prevention programming to modify low SSC may be warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Social self-control
• drug use
• tobacco
• covariate measures

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steve Sussman

Steve Sussman, Ph.D., FAAHB, FAPA, is a professor of preventive medicine, psychology, and social work at the University of Southern California, and he has been at USC since 1984. He studies etiology, prevention, and cessation of addictions, broadly defined. He has over 480 publications.

Chih-Ping Chou

Chih-Ping Chou, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine and School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. His research interests include research methodology, statistics involving latent variables and longitudinal analysis.

Raina D. Pang

Raina D. Pang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. Her research interests include female-specific factors in addiction.

Matthew Kirkpatrick

Matthew Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. His current interests focus on the complex bi-directional interactions between acute drug effects and social settings, and how these interactions contribute to the rewarding effects of drugs.

Casey R. Guillot

Casey R. Guillot, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His research interests include personality vulnerabilities to affective disturbance and addiction.

Matthew Stone

Matthew Stone, B.A., is a data management specialist in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His research interests include understanding the biopsychosocial underpinnings of behavioral and substance addictions.

Rubin Khoddam

Rubin Khoddam, M.A., is a Doctoral Candidate in the Clinical Science area of Psychology, at the University of Southern California. His research interests include the etiology of substance use in adolescence and factors related to initiation, progression, and maintenance.

Nathaniel R. Riggs

Nathaniel R. Riggs, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University. He is a prevention scientist who focuses on translating basic research in developmental neuroscience to interventions for child and adolescent social-emotional, behavioral, and physical health.

Jennifer B. Unger

Jennifer B. Unger, Ph.D., is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine.  Her research focuses on the psychological, social, and cultural influences on health-risk and health-protective behaviors, including the role of acculturation and cultural values on adolescent substance use, with the ultimate goal of developing improved prevention programs to reduce health disparities.

Adam M. Leventhal

Adam M. Leventhal, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology and Director of the University of Southern California Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory.  His research incorporates epidemiology and psychopharmacology to understand how the addictive properties of drugs vary across populations and contexts.  Specific areas of interest include, among several others, emotional determinants and consequences of drug use.