Substance Use Among Adolescents: A Comparison Between Native Born and New American Students

Abstract

Currently, there is a lack of research within the social bond and social capital theory literature on the effects that immigration status has on substance use behaviors. The purpose of the current study is to fill this void in existing research by examining the individual and combined effects that immigration status and social capital have on adolescent substance use. To examine this, survey results from a Midwestern school district are used. Overall, the results indicate that when examining immigration and social capital measures, immigration status only predicts substance use—not frequency of use. Additionally, interaction effects indicate a significant interaction between school social capital and immigration status suggesting that when assessing substance use behaviors, native born adolescents are more affected by lower school social capital compared to recent immigrant groups.