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Adolescents’ Media-related Cognitions and Substance Use in the Context of Parental and Peer Influences

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Abstract

Two cross-sectional studies investigated media influences on adolescents’ substance use and intentions to use substances in the context of exposure to parental and peer risk and protective factors. A total of 729 middle school students (n = 351, 59% female in Study 1; n = 378, 43% female in Study 2) completed self-report questionnaires. The sample in Study 1 was primarily African-American (52%) and the sample in Study 2 was primarily Caucasian (63%). Across the two studies, blocks of media-related cognitions made unique contributions to the prediction of adolescents’ current substance use and intentions to use substances in the future above and beyond self-reported peer and parental influences. Specifically, identification with and perceived similarity to media messages were positively associated with adolescents’ current substance use and intentions to use substances in the future, and critical thinking about media messages and media message deconstruction skills were negatively associated with adolescents’ intention to use substances in the future. Further, peer influence variables (e.g., peer pressure, social norms, peer substance use) acted as risk factors, and for the most part, parental influence variables (e.g., parental pressure to not use, perceived parental reaction) acted as protective factors. These findings highlight the importance of developing an increased understanding of the role of media messages and media literacy education in the prevention of substance use behaviors in adolescence.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the school administrators, health educators, teachers, and students who participated in the two studies for their support and assistance. This project was supported by contracts 1886–06 and 1889–07 from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as well as a subcontract from grant P20DA017589 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, awarded to the Duke University Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center, awarded to the second author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Innovation Research & Training, 1415 W. NC Highway 54, Suite 121, Durham, NC, 27707, USA

    Tracy M. Scull, Janis B. Kupersmidt & Alison E. Parker

  2. University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106-1248, USA

    Kristen C. Elmore

  3. The AD/HD Clinic at UNC Greensboro, 1100 W. Market Street, 3rd floor, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA

    Jessica W. Benson

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  1. Tracy M. Scull
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  2. Janis B. Kupersmidt
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Correspondence to Tracy M. Scull.

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Scull, T.M., Kupersmidt, J.B., Parker, A.E. et al. Adolescents’ Media-related Cognitions and Substance Use in the Context of Parental and Peer Influences. J Youth Adolescence 39, 981–998 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9455-3

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