TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - U.S. trends in adolescent substance use and conduct problems and their relation to trends in unstructured in-person socializing with peers
JO  - Journal of Adolescent Health
A1  - Borodovsky, Jacob T.
A1  - Krueger, Robert F.
A1  - Agrawal, Arpana
A1  - ElBanna, Basant
A1  - de Looze, Margaretha
A1  - Grucza, Richard A.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - PURPOSE: This study examined whether national trends in unstructured in-person socializing with peers (i.e., socializing without goals or supervision) among adolescents could help explain recent declines in adolescent risk behaviors (e.g., substance use, fighting, theft). <br><br>METHODS: The sample contained of 44,842 U.S. 12th-grade students (aged 17-18 years) from the Monitoring the Future survey (years 1999-2017). Analyses examined (1) prevalence trends, (2) latent factor structure of risk behaviors and unstructured in-person socializing, and (3) whether trends in the unstructured in-person socializing factor accounted for the relationship between time (i.e., survey year) and the risk behavior factor. <br><br>RESULTS: Adolescent risk behaviors and unstructured in-person socializing declined by approximately 30% in the U.S., and both formed coherent latent factors. After adjusting for sociodemographics, declines in unstructured in-person socializing accounted for approximately 86% of declines in risk behaviors. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of risk behaviors and unstructured in-person socializing behaviors declined among U.S. 12th graders from 1999 to 2017. It is unknown whether such effects are directly causal and/or influenced by unmeasured variables. However, the results provide evidence that national declines in unstructured in-person socializing are a likely component of the explanation for national declines in adolescent risk behaviors.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1054-139X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.12.144
ID  - ref1
ER  -