Strong Personal Confidence to Resist Drugs and Avoiding Drug-Using Friends Protected Teens Even in the Worst Neighborhoods
Among 2,539 teens, living in disorganized neighborhoods with visible drug problems predicted substance use including marijuana, but having strong resistance self-efficacy and avoiding substance-using peers consistently buffered these neighborhood effects.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The study followed 2,539 high school students and college freshmen originally recruited from Southern California middle schools. Perceptions of neighborhood disorganization, poor social cohesion, and visible alcohol/drug problems were all associated with higher odds of marijuana and other substance use one year later.
However, two individual-level factors consistently buffered the negative neighborhood effects. Resistance self-efficacy (RSE), a teen's confidence in their ability to say no to substances, reduced the impact of living in a disorganized neighborhood. Similarly, having weaker affiliations with substance-using peers also protected against neighborhood risk.
Interestingly, objective census tract-level disadvantage (poverty, unemployment) was not longitudinally associated with substance use, while subjective perceptions of neighborhood problems were. This suggests that how teens perceive their environment matters more than objective economic indicators.
Key Numbers
2,539 adolescents. Perceptions of neighborhood disorganization, low social cohesion, and drug problems predicted ATOD use. Resistance self-efficacy and peer factors consistently buffered neighborhood effects. Census tract disadvantage was NOT predictive longitudinally.
How They Did This
Longitudinal analysis of 2,539 Southern California adolescents. Multivariate logistic regressions with interaction terms tested whether parental monitoring, resistance self-efficacy, and peer substance use modified the relationship between neighborhood measures and substance use one year later.
Why This Research Matters
Prevention programs often focus on either community-level or individual-level interventions. This study shows they work together: even in high-risk neighborhoods, teens with strong personal resistance skills and fewer substance-using friends were less likely to use marijuana. This supports multi-level prevention approaches.
The Bigger Picture
The finding that perceived neighborhood problems mattered more than objective economic data challenges purely structural explanations of adolescent substance use. It suggests that how young people experience and interpret their environment shapes their substance use decisions, and that individual resilience factors can meaningfully counteract environmental risk.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Self-reported substance use and neighborhood perceptions. Southern California sample may not generalize nationally. The "buffering" effects were measured as statistical interactions, which can be unstable in observational data. The study combined alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, and marijuana into the analysis, making it difficult to isolate marijuana-specific effects.
Questions This Raises
- ?Can resistance self-efficacy be effectively taught in school-based programs?
- ?Does the buffering effect of personal resilience persist into adulthood?
- ?Would improving perceived neighborhood conditions (policing, social programs) reduce adolescent substance use independently of individual-level interventions?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Personal resistance skills and peer choices buffered neighborhood risk factors for substance use
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate evidence from a longitudinal study with a large sample and appropriate statistical methods.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2017. Based on Southern California adolescents.
- Original Title:
- Individual, peer, and family factor modification of neighborhood-level effects on adolescent alcohol, cigarette, e-cigarette, and marijuana use.
- Published In:
- Drug and alcohol dependence, 180, 76-85 (2017)
- Authors:
- Shih, Regina A(2), Parast, Layla, Pedersen, Eric R(18), Troxel, Wendy M, Tucker, Joan S, Miles, Jeremy N V, Kraus, Lisa, D'Amico, Elizabeth J
- Database ID:
- RTHC-01519
Evidence Hierarchy
Follows a group of people over time to track how outcomes develop.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does living in a bad neighborhood make teens more likely to use marijuana?
Perceived neighborhood problems (visible drug use, disorganization) were associated with higher marijuana use one year later. However, objective economic measures (poverty, unemployment) were not predictive. How teens perceive their environment matters more than the census tract statistics.
Can anything protect teens in high-risk neighborhoods?
Yes. Teens with strong confidence in their ability to refuse substances and those with fewer substance-using friends were significantly less affected by neighborhood risk factors. These individual and social buffers were consistent across different types of neighborhood problems.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-01519APA
Shih, Regina A; Parast, Layla; Pedersen, Eric R; Troxel, Wendy M; Tucker, Joan S; Miles, Jeremy N V; Kraus, Lisa; D'Amico, Elizabeth J. (2017). Individual, peer, and family factor modification of neighborhood-level effects on adolescent alcohol, cigarette, e-cigarette, and marijuana use.. Drug and alcohol dependence, 180, 76-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.07.014
MLA
Shih, Regina A, et al. "Individual, peer, and family factor modification of neighborhood-level effects on adolescent alcohol, cigarette, e-cigarette, and marijuana use.." Drug and alcohol dependence, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.07.014
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Individual, peer, and family factor modification of neighbor..." RTHC-01519. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/shih-2017-individual-peer-and-family
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.