How Urban Youth Perceive Relationships Among School Environments, Social Networks, Self-Concept, and Substance Use

Rebecca N Dudovitz; Giselle Perez-Aguilar; Grace Kim; Mitchell D Wong; Paul J Chung

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2016.10.007

How Urban Youth Perceive Relationships Among School Environments, Social Networks, Self-Concept, and Substance Use

Acad Pediatr. 2017 Mar;17(2):161-167. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2016.10.007.

Authors

Rebecca N Dudovitz¹, Giselle Perez-Aguilar², Grace Kim³, Mitchell D Wong⁴, Paul J Chung⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics/Children's Discovery & Innovation Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif; David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif. Electronic address: rdudovitz@mednet.ucla.edu.
² Department of Pediatrics/Children's Discovery & Innovation Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
³ David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.
⁴ David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif; Department of Internal Medicine, General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics/Children's Discovery & Innovation Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif; David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif; Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif; RAND, Santa Monica, Calif.

Abstract

Objective: Studies suggest adolescent substance use aligns with academic and behavioral self-concept (whether teens think of themselves as good or bad students and as rule followers or rule breakers) as well as peer and adult social networks. Schools are an important context in which self-concept and social networks develop, but it remains unclear how school environments might be leveraged to promote healthy development and prevent substance use. We sought to describe how youth perceive the relationships among school environments, adolescent self-concept, social networks, and substance use.

Methods: Semistructured interviews with 32 low-income minority youth (aged 17-22 years) who participated in a prior study, explored self-concept development, school environments, social networks, and substance use decisions. Recruitment was stratified by whether, during high school, they had healthy or unhealthy self-concept profiles and had engaged in or abstained from substance use.

Results: Youth described feeling labeled by peers and teachers and how these labels became incorporated into their self-concept. Teachers who made students feel noticed (eg, by learning students' names) and had high academic expectations reinforced healthy self-concepts. Academic tracking, extracurricular activities, and school norms determined potential friendship networks, grouping students either with well-behaving or misbehaving peers. Youth described peer groups, combined with their self-concept, shaping their substance use decisions. Affirming healthy aspects of their self-concept at key risk behavior decision points helped youth avoid substance use in the face of peer pressure.

Conclusions: Youth narratives suggest school environments shape adolescent self-concept and adult and peer social networks, all of which impact substance use.

Keywords: qualitative research; schools; self concept; social networks; substance use; youth.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Attitude to Health*
Black or African American
Female
Friends
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Male
Minority Groups
Peer Group
Perception
Poverty / psychology
Qualitative Research
Schools*
Self Concept*
Social Environment*
Social Support*
Students
Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
Urban Population
Young Adult

Abstract

MeSH terms

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