PSYCHOSOCIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OCCASIONAL AND REGULAR ADOLESCENT USERS OF MARIJUANA AND HEROIN

Data on marijuana and heroin use were obtained from 969 adolescents in Hong Kong, part of them being offenders. Very high drug use prevalenc e rates were found, which is due to the unique population studied. All but two of the heroin users were incarcerated youth. Drug use frequen cies were highly associated with psychosocial variables such as sensat ion seeking, peer drug use, family drug use, susceptibility to peer pr essure, perceived control to gain access to drugs, intention to try ot her substances, and perceived adverse consequences of drug use. Intera ctions were found indicating, for example, that regularly marijuana us ing girls and occasionally heroin using girls were characterized by hi gher levels of sensation seeking and susceptibility to peer pressure t han their male counterparts. Polysubstance use was generally related t o high levels of psychosocial vulnerability factors. The occlusive use of marijuana was associated with high susceptibility to peer pressure and with perceived control to gain access to drugs. The findings refl ect a complex interplay of psychosocial variables with substance use i n adolescents that, however, cannot be generalized beyond this particu lar sample in Hong Kong.