Patterns of Substance Use in Early Through Late Adolescence

This study examined patterns of substance use throughout adolescence. A cluster analytic approach was used to identify subgroups of adolescents on the basis of their levels of substance use from early through late adolescence (Grades 6 through 11). Six distinct clusters of substance users emerged—2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of community psychology 2002-12, Vol.30 (6), p.835-852
Main Authors: Zapert, Kinga, Snow, David L., Tebes, Jacob Kraemer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
adolescence
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescents
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Age Differences
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcohol use
Biological and medical sciences
Child psychology
Children & youth
Classification
Cluster Analysis
Cohort Studies
Drug use
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
New England - epidemiology
prevention
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
Risk-Taking
Schools
Smoking - epidemiology
Street Drugs
Students - psychology
Students - statistics & numerical data
Substance Abuse
substance use
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders - prevention & control
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young people
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Summary:This study examined patterns of substance use throughout adolescence. A cluster analytic approach was used to identify subgroups of adolescents on the basis of their levels of substance use from early through late adolescence (Grades 6 through 11). Six distinct clusters of substance users emerged—2 groups representing relatively stable patterns of substance use from early through late adolescence (i.e., nonusers and alcohol experimenters), and 4 groups of users showing escalating patterns of substance use (i.e., low escalators, early starters, late starters, and high escalators). The study provides a comprehensive view of adolescent substance use by examining the progression of use from early to late adolescence, demonstrates the usefulness of studying patterns of use across multiple substances, and underscores the importance of building classification schemes based on repeated measurements of substance use to reflect changes over time. Implications of the findings for future research and for identifying high‐risk subgroups of adolescents for purposes of intervention based on timing and pattern of escalation are discussed.
ISSN:0091-0562
1573-2770
DOI:10.1023/A:1020257103376