Psychosocial moderators of substance use among middle school-aged adolescents

Recent statistics show a decrease in the overall use of drugs and alcohol i n the general population [1]. In sharp contrast to this trend is due indica tion that adolescents' use of drugs and alcohol is increasing [2]. Because the use of drugs and alcohol can have serious implications for adolescents' physical, emotional, and social development, it is important that human se rvice practitioners working with them understand those factors that influen ce their substance use, in order to develop effective interventions to deal with this growing problem. This article reports the findings of a study of drug and alcohol use among a sample of 779 adolescents who attended middle schools in a large urban city in the southwest United States, The study ex amines the relationships between substance use, social support, and a varie ty of other psychosocial factors; The implications of those relationships f or human service practice and research are discussed.