Substance Use and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescents: The Role of Family and Peer-Individual Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

Extant literature reports a frequent co-occurrence of substance consumption and antisocial behaviors. It is also postulated, therefore, that risk and protective factors are shared by the two behaviors. The purpose of this research is to test this notion by exploring whether family and peer-individual risk and protective factors are similarly associated with unique and co-occurring substance consumption and antisocial behaviors. A sample of 1,599 school students ranging between the ages of 11 and 19 completed a Spanish-language version of the Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCYS). This instrument measures risk and protective factors and also captures adolescent drug consumption and antisocial behaviors. We find that risk and protective factors seem to operate in distinct ways for drug consumption and antisocial behaviors when they occur separately. Our findings indicate that the co-occurrence of both behaviors is related to risk factors, but it should not be inferred that the same factors will be present when only one behavior is observed.

Keywords:

• Substance use
• antisocial behavior
• risk factors
• protective factors
• adolescence

THE AUTHORS

Angela M. Trujillo, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Professor of Psychology and Director of the Research Group of Psychological Processes and Social Context at the University of La Sabana in Colombia. She received her Ph.D. degree in Clinical and Health Psychology from the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Her current research interests include adolescents’ substance use and its implications in their mental health. And also focused on risk and protective factors related to substance use.

Carlos A. Trujillo is associate professor of behavioral decision making and marketing at Universidad de los Andes. He holds a M.Sc and Ph.D. degree in Economics and Management. His current research interests include behavioral decision theory and its application to consumer behavior in connection to consumer vulnerability and well-being. That includes consumption in poverty, substance use, sustainable consumption and violence.

Diana Obando, M.Sc., is an Assistant Research Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychological Services Center at the University of La Sabana in Colombia. She received her M.Sc. degree in Clinical Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá, Colombia. Her current research interests include mental health, psychological assessment, and empirical based treatments in conduct disorders and parental practices.