Publication Date

5-1988

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

James Craig, Ronald Adams, Daniel Roenker

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for the model that the greater number of risk factors experienced by an individual, the greater the drug use. A series of questionnaires including a parental nurturance scale, the PRIDE College Drug Use Prevalence Questionnaire, a delinquency scale, the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale, a modification of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and the Johns Hopkins Symptom Checklist were administered to 235 college students. The series of questionnaires measured ten risk factors used in the study that included high perceived distance from parents, early tobacco use, low religiosity, low academic motivation, sensation seeking, stressful life events, psychological distress, peer drug use, parental drug use, and disregard for rules. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients indicated relationships of r=.33 between number of risk factors and marijuana use to r=.48 between number of risk factors and beer use. Regression analyses indicated that sensation seeking and peer drug use accounted for the most variance in drug use. The relationships provide evidence for the predictive utility of the model in predicting those individuals at risk for drug use. Implications for further research are discussed.

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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