Impact of Contextual Variables on Adolescent Situational Expectation of Substance Use

Abstract

The relationship between contextual variables and situational expectation of drug and alcohol use at the school level suggested by Interactive theory was investigated [1, 2]. A canonical correlation analysis supported a significant relationship between situational expectation of drug and alcohol use and several contextual variables including Students' Perceptions of What Teachers Expect of Them Academically, Percentage of White Students, and the Prosperity of the School. The results indicated that the more prosperous the school and the greater the students' perceptions of what teachers expect of them academically, the lower the situational expectation of smoking cigarettes or taking depressants and the higher the percentage of white students the higher the situational expectation of drinking beer and liquor. Implications for prevention programs and school environment are discussed.