Ecodevelopmental predictors of early initiation of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among Hispanic adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to test the transactional relationships of risk and protective factors that influence initiation of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among Hispanic youth. Ecodevelopmental theory was used to identify factors at multiple ecological levels with a focus on four school-level characteristics (i.e. school socioeconomic status, school climate, school acculturation, and school ethnic composition). A sample of 741 Hispanic adolescents (M age =13.9, SD =.67) and their caregivers were recruited from 18 participating middle schools in Miami-Dade County, FL. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized ecodevelopmental model of early substance use, accounting for school clustering effects. Results provided strong support for the model (CFI = .95; RMSEA =.03). School SES was indirectly related to the likelihood of starting to use substances through perceived peer use norms (β =.03, p <.02). Similarly, school climate had an indirect effect on substance use initiation through family functioning and perceptions of peer use norms (β = −.03, p < .01). Neither school ethnic composition nor school acculturation had indirect effects on initiation of substance use. Results highlight the importance of the interplay of risk and protective factors at multiple ecological levels that impact early substance use initiation. Further, findings underscore the key role of school level characteristics on initiation of substance use and present opportunities for intervention.

Modeling ecodevelopmental context of sexually transmitted disease/HIV risk and protective behaviors among African-American adolescents

“…The principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. For example, immigrant parents might have acculturative stress, and the acculturation differences between parents and young adults can have an adverse influence on the parenting function 59,60. Therefore, by implication, previous studies have proved that the ecodevelopmental framework might serve as an essential guide for researchers to appraise protective and risk processes from social contexts, and understand the direct and indirect influences on the target behavior of the youth.…”

The Relationship Between Acculturation, Ecodevelopment, and Substance Use Among Hispanic Adolescents

“…Specifically, identifying how critical processes within youths’ family, school, and peer environments operate together to impact substance use and how they are are influenced by acculturation may provide important insight for prevention efforts (Bacio et al, 2015). Ecodevelopmental theory, an ecological systems model, provides a multi-dimensional framework that helps explain the influence of family, school, peer, and acculturation mechanisms (Pantin, Schwartz, Sullivan, Coatsworth, and Szapocznik, 2003b).…”

Facilitating Adolescent Well‐Being: A Review of the Challenges and Opportunities and the Beneficial Roles of Parents, Schools, Neighborhoods, and Policymakers

“…If a neighborhood is struggling with poverty, concerted attempts should be made to combat the situation by offering programs for adult job training and education, and housing and urban renewal, and by seeking to attract businesses and jobs to the area (Best & Fortenberry, 2013). When adolescents live in low socioeconomic status neighborhoods, they are more likely to use drugs and engage in other risky behaviors (Bacio et al, 2015;Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000;McLoyd et al, 2009), especially if their neighborhoods also suffer from violence and adult nicotine use (Brook et al, 2013). Neighborhood poverty is especially likely to correlate with risky behavior among female adolescents, and adolescents who are native to the U.S., with immigrants being more immune to external neighborhood influences (Oberwittler, 2007).…”