Citation

Luk JW, Wang J, Simons-Morton BG. J. Adolesc. 2012; 35(5): 1351-1360.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.05.003

PMID

22698675

Abstract

This study examined the co-occurrence of subtypes of substance use and bullying behaviors using latent class analysis and evaluated latent class differences in demographic characteristics, peer and parental influences. Self-reported questionnaire data were collected from a nationally representative sample (N = 7508) of 6-10th grade adolescents in the United States. Four latent classes were identified: the non-involved (57.7%), substance users (19.4%), bullies (17.5%), and substance-using bullies (5.4%). Older and Hispanic adolescents were more likely to be substance users and substance-using bullies, whereas younger and African American adolescents were more likely to be bullies. Females were more likely to be substance users, whereas males were more likely to be bullies and substance-using bullies. Spending more evenings with peers posed greater risks for substance use, bullying, and the co-occurrence of both problem behaviors. Paternal knowledge exerted protective effects over-and-above the effects of maternal knowledge. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Language: en