PEERS, PARENTS, SCHOOL, AND NEIGHBORHOOD INFLUENCES ON ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE ACROSS ETHNIC GROUPS: AN APPLICATION OF PEER CLUSTER AND PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION THEORIES by

The purpose of this study was to develop and test two competing theoretical models for how contextual factors influence adolescent substance use. Models were derived based on peer cluster theory and primary socialization theory and evaluated examine race/ethnic variations in associations between peer, parental, school, and neighborhood influences and adolescent substance use. The sample included 5,992 Southeast Asian) from Dane county, Wisconsin, and all data were collected via adolescent−report surveys. Results from Structural Equation Modeling analyses indicated that the peer cluster model only demonstrated adequate fit in the Asian and Southeast Asian subsamples, whereas the primary socialization model fit well in each ethnic group. When compared, the primary socialization model demonstrated superior fit to the data in all groups than did the peer cluster model except for Southeast Asian adolescents. Results also revealed significant moderation effects of ethnicity in associations between contextual influences and adolescent substance use. Results contributed to previous research by considering multiple contextual influences simultaneously to understand processes related to substance use of adolescents from multiple ethnic groups.