S. Adalbjarnardottir et Fd. Raffnsson, Perceived control in adolescent substance use: Concurrent and longitudinalanalyses, PSYCH ADDIC, 15(1), 2001, pp. 25-32
A sample of 9th-grade students (1,293 individuals, 51% girls) attending com
pulsory schools in Reykjavik, Iceland, was surveyed and followed up 3 years
later. The relationship between perceived control and substance use is exa
mined concurrently at age 14 for experimentation with tobacco and alcohol a
nd longitudinally (14-17 years of age) for daily smoking, heavy drinking, a
nd illicit drug use. Taking into account sociodemographic characteristics (
family structure, socioeconomic status, and gender) and parental and peer u
se, the results of concurrent analyses indicate that adolescents who expres
sed more personal control were less likely to have smoked and to have had a
drink at age 14. Longitudinal analyses showed that perceived control at ag
e 14 predicted both daily smoking and illicit drug use among girls at age 1
7 but not among boys. Conversely, perceived control did not predict heavy d
rinking among adolescents.