Life Strain, Coping, and Substance Use Among High School Students

Abstract

While stress is recognized as an important factor in relation to the mental health of adolescents, few previous studies have identified the sources of stress, particularly those considered to be life strains. The study reported here, based on a survey of 665 grade ten students in Ontario, examines the factor structure of measures of life strain and coping responses and their effects on cigarette, alcohol, and cannabis use among adolescents. Four factors of life strain, imbedded in the life situations of youth, and five factors of coping response are identified. The effects of life strain on cigarette, alcohol, and cannabis use are modest when taking into account coping response factors and social influence variables. The factor Aggression Strain had the strongest effects on substance use, compared to other life strain factors–Social Strain, Family Strain, and School Strain.

Key Words:

• Life strain
• coping response
• substance use by youth
• factor structure