Trends in adolescent alcohol and other substance use: Relationships to trends in peer, parent, and school influences

The aim of this study is to improve understanding of trends in adolescent s ubstance use by comparing them with trends in peer substance use, school pr oblem behavior, parental disapproval of alcohol and drugs, and exposure to school prevention information. These trends were determined using data from three large comparable representative surveys of 7-12th grade students in New York State conducted in 1983, 1990, and 1994. Analysis of variance was used to test the significance of the trends and to identify meaningful diff erences in trends by demographic subgroups (gender, grace level, and ethnic ity). Adolescent alcohol and substance use declined in the 1980s, then incr eased from 1990 to 1994. Trends in friend's substance use and school proble m behavior paralleled the alcohol and other substance use trends, consisten t with their being part of the same adolescent problem behavior syndrome. P arental disapproval also followed a trend consistent with the substance use trends, i.e., parental disapproval increased in the 1980s but then decreas ed in the 1990s. However, the trend in school prevention influences did not parallel these substance use trends: student exposure to school primary pr evention programs continued to increase from 1990 to 1994. Use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs from 1990 to 1994, increased fastest among the younger students, despite increased school prevention ex posure. Other factors must be sought as possible explanations of the increa sing alcohol and substance use among adolescents.