Concurrent Predictors of Cigarette and Alcohol Use among U.S. and Russian Adolescents

Abstract

In the present study, we describe correlates of 30-day cigarette and alcohol use among two samples of high school students, one in the Russian Federation ( n = 365), and one in the United States ( n = 965). The correlates used in the analyses are based on the theory of triadic influence, which organizes predictors of adolescent substance use into three distinct types of influence. Overall, correlates from each of the types of influence were significant predictors of substance use in both samples. The most consistent positive predictors of cigarette and alcohol use across countries were friends' substance use and sensation seeking behavior. Perceived harmfulness of drug use was negatively associated with cigarette and alcohol use in both samples. Having a substance abuser in one's family was negatively associated with alcohol use in the Russian sample, but positively associated with alcohol use in the U.S. sample. In general, similar patterns of relationships between predictors and substance use were seen across both countries.