7. Third limitation
Studies defined social positions on the basis one-way ties.
Hypothesis
• Social positions are related to adolescent use of
tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants.
• Isolates would more likely use tobacco and inhalants.
• Members would use marijuana and a
8. Participants
1,119 sixth-grade children from 144 classes
14 public schools
the sample was divided between male and female students
African American, White, and Hispanic children
9. Measures
friendship - the peer nomination inventory
Procedure: each student - printed page displaying a list
of all boys and girls in his or her classroom
student crossed off every name that fit the question
asked by the assessor
after the first year of the study, the inventory also
included an item asking participants to identify their
three best friends
10. this item is typically used in classroom network analysis
limiting youth to three nominations has been criticized for
not accurately modeling actual network structures
rather than limiting nominations to three, they used the
item “Who would you like to be your best friends?”
11. Substance use.
involvement in substance use was measured using an
abbreviated version of the Self-Report of Delinquency
adapted from the Denver Youth Study
measure asked youth about the frequency of 25
delinquent acts ranging from school truancy to drug use
four items tapping the frequency of substance use were
analyzed in this study
12. Procedures
participants completed the measures at their school
desks
classroom teacher was not in the room at the time of
administration
Students without parental consent were assigned alias
IDs that allowed their data to be used in network analysis
without identifying them or linking their data to other
study data
13. Risk of substance use
Increase (odds > 1.0)
Decrease (odds < 1.0)
14. Only gender difference in use of marijuana
(odds ratio = 0.5 f/m)
Ethnic differences on alcohol and inhalant use
African American (1.88 vs. Caucasian
Hispanic (1.63 vs. Caucasian)
15. Participants in large city half the risk
Tobacco use:
15% isolates
16% members
21% liaisons.
16. Alcohol use:
46%liaisons
34% isolates
No effects of social network
position on marijuana or
inhalant use.
In study there was social network analysis for identifying social positions of youth and their use of drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants. It was proved that social status is a factor in youth drug abuse. But it is not the isolates who abused drugs, it was liaisons (ljizns) who were more likely to use tobacco and alcohol and there was no links between social position and marijuana and inhalant abuse.
Liaisons are at increased risk of alcohol and tobacco abuse and there are four possible explanations for that occurring: 1. more possible to associate with substance-using youth. They are more likely to be connected with more people who are either members of groups or isolates. This is ought to be a possible explanation for higher risk of drug abuse
. explanation is stating that there is connection with liaisons, stress and self medicating and drug abuse. once again it goes with liaisons being more connected to peers, who are either members or isolates, and they are even called bridge between peer groups, isolated and so on. Common believe is that a liaison is a well adjusted person, but study has shown different. As a bridge it is his task to help to mediate a conflict, which is a stressful task. They suffer stress connected to conflicting, demand, behavioral expectations and incompatible subgroup norms. They are even in same stress as professionals who deal with multiple social groups in companies. So to relieve the stress they run to tobacco and alcohol abuse.
3. next reason is substance use promoting group acceptance or rejection. Liaisons using tobacco and alcohol gained social approval with alcohol and tobacco use, it was facilitating group entry. In high schools, high status girls were smoking to maintain their social status, they felt free to choose to smoke or not, on the other hand there were low social status girls who were forced to try smoking by influenceable girls. They would do anything to became a part of the popular group, and there was also a factor of peer pressure. in that case, tobacco or alcohol was used to become a part of group and not just being a part of periphery
4. liaisons were being marginalized by peers, only 3 years older were more likely to use tobacco if they were isolated.
There are also differences when it comes to ethnicity, races and residence location, whites have lower alcohol ratio than others, females had less chances to use marijuana, small city youth is more likely to use drugs (excluding inhalants) than large-city ones. suburban and rural youth are more likely to abuse drugs.
