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Drug Use Homophily in Adolescent Offenders' Close Friendship Groups

NCJ Number
305561
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 51 Issue: 10 Dated: 2022 Pages: 2046-2059
Author(s)
Date Published
2022
Length
14 pages
Annotation

This study presented an analysis into how drug-use in justice-involved boys’ friendship groups relates to subsequent substance-use in the future.

Abstract

Since adolescents who befriend drug-using peers may be at risk for initiated and continued substance use, the current secondary data analysis examined how drug-use homophily (i.e., similarity) in justice-involved boys’ friendship groups relates to their subsequent substance-use variety across a period of five years. Participants were 1,216 first-time adolescent offenders (Mage Baseline = 15.29; 100% male). Multilevel model analyses revealed that, among participants who entered the study with a history of substance use, drug-use homophily was associated with greater subsequent substance-use variety. Among participants who entered the study without a history of substance use, this association was no longer significant. The findings have implications for guiding justice system programming aimed at decreasing adolescent offenders’ substance use. (Publisher abstract provided)

 

Date Published: January 1, 2022