PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION THEORY - THE INFLUENCE OF THE COMMUNITY ON DRUG-USE AND DEVIANCE - III

Primary socialization theory states that drug use and deviance are soc ial behaviors learned predominantly through three sources, the family, the school, and peer clusters. This paper shows that the theory provi des a parsimonious explanation of how characteristics of both the loca l community and the larger extended community influence drug use and d eviance. These characteristics affect deviance because they either str engthen or weaken bonding with the three primary socialization sources , or affect the norms that are transmitted through the primary sociali zation process. The paper considers the following social structure cha racteristics of the local neighborhood or community: physical characte ristics, rurality, ethnicity, heterogeneity, occupational type, mobili ty, poverty, neighborhood deviance, and age distribution. It also exam ines how other secondary socialization sources, the extended family, a ssociational groups, religion, the peer environment, and the media inf luence the primary socialization process and, in turn, drug use and de viance.