1. Aggression Types as Predictors of Adolescent Substance Use
Steve Hakim, Meredith Henry, and Sylvie Mrug
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Introduction
Analysis and Results
Discussion
Adolescent substance use is a significant public health problem.
35% of high school students report recent alcohol use.
23% report recent marijuana use.
22% report current nicotine use (CDC, 2014).
Childhood aggression predicts substance use initiation in adolescence (Connor et al., 2004).
Aggression can have two forms and two functions (Little et al., 2003):
Forms: physical (overt) and relational (e.g., gossiping).
Functions: instrumental (to gain something) and reactive (to retaliate).
Both instrumental and reactive aggression have been linked with adolescent substance use (Fite et al., 2008), but no studies have examined the roles of different forms and functions of aggression in adolescent substance use.
This study aims to examine the prospective relationships between forms and functions of aggression in early adolescence and substance use in late adolescence.
Pure overt aggression in early adolescence was the most predictive aggression subtype of late adolescent alcohol use, potentially due to its role in progression of problem behavior and affiliation with deviant peers (Fite et al., 2012).
While reactive overt aggression was most frequently reported in early adolescence, it did not uniquely predict substance use in late adolescence.
Pure relational aggression also predicted alcohol use, perhaps reflecting the role of anxiety (Loudin et al., 2003).
Early adolescent substance use uniquely predicted all types of substance use in late adolescence, consistent with prior research on the negative outcomes of early substance use initiation (Magid & Moreland, 2014).
The results suggest that early adolescents who engage in substance use and/or overt and relational aggression are at an increased risk of more frequent alcohol use in late adolescence and would benefit from interventions.
Figure 1. Average Report of Aggression at Wave 2
Figure 2. Average Report of Substance Use Frequency at Wave 3
Possible range 6-24
Possible range 0-7
Main analyses
Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted in SPSS to predict frequency of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use at Wave 3 from each form of aggression in Wave 2.
Step 1 included covariates - age, gender, ethnicity, family income, and Wave 2 substance use.
Step 2 included aggression subscales, tested one at a time because of high intercorrelations.
Table 1. Linear Regression Analyses
Sample
Marijuana Use β
Tobacco Use
Alcohol Use
Step 1
Age
.07
.14**
.17***
Female
-.15**
-.10
-.05
Ethnic minority
.12*
-.01
Family income
-.04
-.11*
-.02
Wave 2 substance use
.21***
.26***
Separate Steps 2
Pure overt aggression
.03
.18***
Reactive overt aggression
.05
.09
Instrumental overt aggression
-.00
.08
Pure relational aggression
.04
.10**
Reactive relational aggression
.02
Instrumental relational aggression
.00
Limitations and Future Directions
Adolescents participated in the Birmingham Youth Violence Study, a longitudinal study of youth violence.
Students recruited from public schools.
502 students took part in Waves 2 and 3.
Mean ages – 13.2 at Wave 2 and 18.0 at Wave 3
52% male
78% African American, 20% Caucasian, 2% other
Youth reported relatively low levels of aggression and substance use.
Some forms of aggression (especially instrumental aggression) were rarely endorsed, which likely attenuated their relationships with substance use.
Aggression was assessed with self-reports that may be biased. Peer, teacher, or parent reports may be more valid.
Long time elapsed between Waves 2 and 3; aggression may be a stronger predictor of substance use over shorter periods of time.
Future research should examine how different forms of aggression predict substance use over shorter time periods (e.g., 1-2 years) using multi-informant reports.
Possible gender differences in the roles of different types of aggression in substance use should also be evaluated.
Measures
Aggression
Youth report of aggression at Wave 2 (Little et al., 2003)
6 subscales:
Pure overt aggression (“you often fight with others”)
Reactive overt aggression (“when you are hurt, you fight”)
Instrumental overt aggression (“fight to get what you want”)
Pure relational aggression (“you say mean things about others”)
Reactive relational aggression (“when others hurt you…”)
Instrumental relational aggression (“… to get what you want”)
6 items per scale.
Rated 1 (Not at all true) to 4 (Completely true) and summed.
Substance Use
Wave 2
Youth report of ever having used alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana
Items rated 0 (no) to 1 (yes) and summed
Wave 3
Youth report of frequency of using marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol in the past year
Items rated 0 (never) to 7 (everyday)
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Connor, D. F., Anderson, J. J., Steingazd, R. J., & Cunningham, J. A. (2004). Proactive and reactive aggression in referred children and adolescents. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry (Wiley-Blackwell), 74(2), doi: /
Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (2008). The Relation between childhood proactive and reactive aggression and substance use initiation. Journal Of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), doi: /s
Fite, P. J., Schwartz, S., & Hendrickson, M. (2012). Childhood proactive and reactive aggression: Differential risk for substance use? Aggression & Violent Behavior, 17(3), doi: /j.avb
Little, T. D., Henrich, C. C., Jones, S. M., & Hawley, P. H. (2003). Disentangling the 'whys' from the 'whats' of aggressive behaviour. International Journal Of Behavioral Development, 27(2), 122.
Loudin, J. L., Loukas, A., & Robinson, S. (2003). Relational aggression in college students: Examining the roles of social anxiety and empathy. Aggressive Behavior, 29(5), doi: /ab.10039
Magid, V., & Moreland, A. D. (2014). The role of substance use initiation in adolescent development of subsequent substance-related problems. Journal Of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 23(2), doi: / X
*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
After accounting for Wave 2 substance use and demographic factors, only pure overt aggression and pure relational aggression predicted more frequent alcohol use at Wave 3.
Overt (physical) aggression was a stronger predictor of substance use than relational aggression.
None of the instrumental or reactive aggression subtypes uniquely predicted future substance use.
Marijuana and tobacco use frequencies were not predicted by any aggression subscales.