Puzzle of Adolescent Substance Use

The persistence of tobacco and alcohol use in an era when the harmful effects of these habits is well known constitutes a major puzzle for researchers. Among adolescents, it is not clearly known whether the choice to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol is the result of rational processes, where costs and benefits are weighed, or is simply governed by impulses.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether the Multi-Attribute Utility (MAU) model is associated with smoking and alcohol use among an ethnically diverse Southern Californian sample of 2,789 7th graders. The MAU model was chosen because it allows researchers to investigate the roles that specific perceived consequences of substance use (e.g., being more popular, feeling more relaxed) plays in the decision to engage or not engage in substance use.

Students completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire in a classroom setting. The overall results supported the MAU model. Specifically, chi-square analyses revealed that substance users were more likely to have positive utility scores than non-users. Furthermore, logistic regression odds ratios adjusted for the effects of demographic covariates revealed that smoking and alcohol use were associated with higher perceived utilities of using the substance. Implications and future directions are further discussed.