Research has demonstrated that both violent victimization and neighborhood context influence youth development. However, the ways in which these factors individually and jointly affect the development of substance use is unclear. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between violent victimization, neighborhood context and drug use from adolescence (ages 12-18) through early adulthood (ages 15 to 21). To do so, the project will analyze longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), a large-scale study specifically designed to investigate contextual effects on individual development. We examine three aims in this study: 1) the effects of violent victimization on youth substance use, including a comparison of direct (i.e., personally experiencing violence) and indirect (i.e., witnessing violence committed against another) victimization;2) the effects of neighborhood structural (i.e., concentrated disadvantage) and social (i.e., collective efficacy, social ties, and cultural norms regarding adolescent substance use and delinquency) characteristics on youth drug use;and 3) the extent to which neighborhood context moderates the effects of victimization on youth substance use. Examination of these issues can help inform prevention efforts designed to reduce the initiation and progression of adolescent substance use. Identifying youth most at risk for engaging in substance use (e.g., such as those exposed to violent victimization or living in disadvantaged communities) will allow services to be targeted to those most in need. In addition, if neighborhood characteristics are shown to influence the relationship between victimization and substance use, neighborhood-level interventions would be suggested to enhance features of the community (e.g., to foster higher levels of informal social control or trust between neighbors) in order to reduce drug use.

Public Health Relevance

The public health benefits of the proposed research project will include increasing our understanding of the ways in which violent victimization and neighborhood characteristics may independently and jointly affect the likelihood of drug use during adolescence. Results from this study can inform community-based prevention efforts intended to delay or reduce adolescent drug use.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01DA030387-04
Application #
8548557
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-PSE-J (50))
Program Officer
Deeds, Bethany
Project Start
2010-09-30
Project End
2014-08-31
Budget Start
2012-09-03
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$171,144
Indirect Cost
$50,577
Name
Florida State University
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
790877419
City
Tallahassee
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32306
Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M; Pinchevsky, Gillian M (2015) A multi-level analysis of the impact of neighborhood structural and social factors on adolescent substance use. Drug Alcohol Depend 153:180-6
Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M; Pinchevsky, Gillian M (2015) Exposure to violence, substance use, and neighborhood context. Soc Sci Res 49:314-26
Pinchevsky, Gillian M; Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M (2014) Victimization experiences and adolescent substance use: does the type and degree of victimization matter? J Interpers Violence 29:299-319
Miller, Riane N; Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M (2014) The Moderating Effects of Peer and Parental Support on the Relationship Between Vicarious Victimization and Substance Use. J Drug Issues 44:362-380
Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M; Pinchevsky, Gillian M (2014) The protective effects of neighborhood collective efficacy on adolescent substance use and violence following exposure to violence. J Youth Adolesc 43:1498-512
Wright, Emily M; Fagan, Abigail A (2013) THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE IN CONTEXT: EXPLORING THE MODERATING ROLES OF NEIGHBORHOOD DISADVANTAGE AND CULTURAL NORMS. Criminology 51:217-249
Pinchevsky, Gillian M; Wright, Emily M; Fagan, Abigail A (2013) Gender differences in the effects of exposure to violence on adolescent substance use. Violence Vict 28:122-44
Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M; Pinchevsky, Gillian M (2013) Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Adolescent Substance Use. J Drug Issues 43:69-84
Wright, Emily M; Fagan, Abigail A; Pinchevsky, Gillian M (2013) The effects of exposure to violence and victimization across life domains on adolescent substance use. Child Abuse Negl 37:899-909