Influence of Life Path on Substance Use Decisions May be Minimal
Strategic targeting for education to prevent substance use requires an extensive understanding of how and when specific groups of people are most at risk for problems. Previous research has shown that transitions in life are often critical times for higher risk of substance use initiation. The introduction of new freedoms at certain junctions or milestones often presents new opportunities to try dangerous substances.
A study recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and conducted by researchers Sabrina Oesterle, J. David Hawkins and Karl G. Hill observed the impact of life path differences on choices related to tobacco, marijuana and alcohol use. The research was based on the link between social transitions and changes in substance use patterns.
The study's objective was focused on common pathways taken by teens and young adults as they are defined by employment, education, marriage and becoming parents. The researchers were specifically interested in the changes that occur between the ages of 18 and 33.
The study accessed data from a longitudinal sample of 412 males and 396 females recruited through the Seattle public school system during the students' fifth grade year in 1985. The researchers followed the participants until they were 33 years old in 2008. The study had a retention rate of 92 percent.
The results of the study found that the participants who had the least postsecondary education and who did not marry by the age of 30 generally were associated with higher levels of substance misuse. The lowest rates of substance misuse were found to be among those who had postsecondary education and had put off beginning a family.
When it came to parenthood, those with young children tended to have low rates of substance misuse, unless the individual became a parent during the late teen years or their early twenties. This difference was noted most strongly in females, and specifically for tobacco use.
The influence of different pathways and their transitions were found to be mostly consistent in the young adult years, but their trajectories seemed to be already in place by the time the person was at the age of 18. This suggests that substance abuse patterns are established at an early age.
The results of the study seem to indicate that while new freedoms and opportunities may provide a response resulting in increased substance use, it may be only partially influential on decisions related to substance use.
