| Accumulating evidence suggests that the etiologies of substance use and other deviant behaviors include both individual and contextual factors. This study offers an integrative approach in accounting for these macro and individual levels of influence by examining the conditioning effects of school climate on the relations between three aspects social control (school, parent, and peers attachment) and substance use. With this approach, we seek to extend previous work by delineating the mechanisms through which school characteristics affect the strength of the relationship between individual-level social bonds and the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. The data were drawn from a sample of 27,458 students located within 42 middle and high schools in Kentucky. We focused on school characteristics including school efficacy (capital and deficits), school socioeconomic status, structure (middle vs. high), and racial heterogeneity. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques (HLM), we estimated these effects on the school means controlling for individual level predictors as well as on the slopes for the three dimensions of attachment. In this manner, we were able to determine the direct and moderating effects of school climate on substance use. Results indicated that the relationship between peer attachment and substance use was unaffected by school context. In contrast, the relations between school and parent attachment and cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use were particularly sensitive to school characteristics. Individuals possessing deficits in school bonding and parental attachment had lower levels of substance use in low risk schools compared to individuals possessing similar deficits in high risk schools. These findings contribute to our understanding of the complex interaction between individual levels of attachment and the contextual characteristics at the school level. |
Updated 05/20/2006