Perceived Family Environment of Black Adolescent Alcohol Users and Nonusers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Black American adolescents' substance use (alcohol) and their perceptions of their family environments. Eighty-six participants between ages 12 and 19 from a large mid-Atlantic medical facility who reported exposure to alcohol use were asked to complete Moos' Family Environment Scale (FES). The participants were divided into users and nonusers. Users were described as those who drank at least once a week and used at least medium amounts per occasion. Nonusers were defined as those who did not drink or used less than once a year. Substance users were hypothesized to perceive family environment less favorably than nonusers. A t-test was conducted to compare means of groups on each subscale of the FES. The independent variable was alcohol use (yes/no). Dependent variables were the scores on the FES subscales. Analyses of the data indicated that users and nonusers differed significantly (p<.05) on five of the ten subscales, specifically Cohesion, Conflict, Achievement, Intellectual, and Moral Religious Emphasis.