Risk and protective factors in the non-medical use of prescription drugs among adolescents

摘要

This study aimed to investigate the Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs NMUPD among adolescents. Previously studied risk and protective factors were evaluated across five ecological domains including community, family, individual, peer, and school. These sets of factors were used to help understand the relationship of the constructs that serve as risk or protective in adolescent NMUPD. The Communities that Care Survey was distributed to 9--12 th graders on one occasion. For the intents and purposes of this study, NMUPD was assessed by previous 30-day tranquilizer, pain-reliever, or stimulant use. The survey results were used to construct an exploratory factor analysis. Results of the study yielded 9 factors. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to create a measurement model of five factors drawn from the Exploratory Factor Analysis. Structural equation modeling was then performed to analyze the five latent variable constructs relationships to NMUPD. Each of the five ecological domains had two or more factor indices. The full model of the five ecological domains did not show a good fitting model for the NMUPD; however, the individual, peer, and school direct path models were a good fitting model for the NMUPD. Gender moderation did not occur in the five-factor model, though direct path models did demonstrate good model fit. These findings are discussed as a means for refining future models and developing preventative interventions for future use.