Joseph A. Wingard

A comparison of two latent variable causal models for adolescent drug use.

The competing simplex (involvement) and common factor models for youthful drug use are statistically compared using causal modeling with latent variables methods in a sample of 1,634 young adolescents. Latent variables of alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use were confirmed and causally interconnected in a set of states. The confirmatory factor and the simplex stage models were found to be acceptable representations of the observed data according to both statistical and psychometric criteria. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of emerging lifestyles including drug use, methodology, and policy about psychoactive substances.

Longitudinal Analysis Of The Role Of Peer Support, Adult Models, And Peer Subcultures In Beginning Adolescent Substance Use: An Application Of Setwise Canonical Correlation Methods

A confirmatory, longitudinal design was used with a setwise partial canonical correlation methodology to determine whether indicators of a deviant adolescent peer culture contain information about the subsequent drug use beyond that which may be obtained from knowledge of present drug use and perceived sources of supply and support. Peer culture measures did not increase prediction over a one year period. Adolescent drug use was quite stable over one year, and perceived sources of supply and support served to predict those portions of subsequent drug use not explained by present use. The results suggest that general nonconformity among peers is not a strong precursor of adolescent drug use.

Applications of a Theory of Drug Use to Prevention Programs

An interactive theory of drug use is outlined which provides the framework for integrating current knowledge and initiating new research. The theory has as its major characteristics: 1) attempted comprehensiveness; 2) explicit design for empirical test using causal models; 3) differentiation of direct and indirect causes of drug use and the consequences of drug-taking; 4) the delineation of mechanisms associated with different stages of drug use. The theory is applied to major issues implicit in the design and implementation of primary and secondary prevention programs, as well as to issues in professional training and the evaluation of programs. The model is presented as an evolutionary one which will grow as new data and clinical experiences are collected.

The Relationship Of Personality Structure To Patterns Of Adolescent Substance Use

The relationship of personality to patterns of adolescent substance use was examined in an effort to determine the extent to which these domains overlap. During the first year of a longitudinal study of adolescent drug use, self-report data were collected on personality and current use patterns of 13 substances. The data from the domains of drug use and personality were interrelated using canonical correlation analysis. Rotation of canonical variates and cross-validation were used in order to distinguish between statistically significant and theoretically meaningful results. The results revealed that a single dimension of general substance use was associated with a cluster of personality traits and attitudes. Although the overlap between the drug use and personality domains was moderately high, the ability of personality to account for variations in adolescent substance use was relatively low.

Intentions to Use Drugs among Adolescents: A Longitudinal Analysis

Data on the actual and intended use of psychoactive substances were used to predict substance use 1 year later for 1,177 adolescents. A confirmatory methodology tested whether the information contained in intentions to use drugs provided a sufficient increment over behavioral data in predicting future drug use. While the increment was statistically significant, the strength of the additional information was minimal. The results are interpreted as showing that little variance in adolescent substance use can be attributed to long-term cognitively purposeful behavior unique from previous drug-taking experience.

A longitudinal analysis of personality structure and adolescent substance use

Abstract Within the context of a prospective longitudinal research design, the structure of personality and initial levels of drug use were used to predict, multivariately, later drug use among male and female adolescents. The findings indicated that personality and belief measures of nonconventionality provide a significant increment in the prediction of later drug use beyond a level achieved by knowing initial usage rates. In addition, other personality and belief measures yield further increments in the prediction of subsequent drug use. Developmentally, the results revealed a differentiation of drug use patterns across the years time, with one pattern primarily reflecting alcohol use, and a second pattern primarily reflecting use of marijuana and ‘hard’ drugs. While both patterns were related to measures of nonconventionality, certain personality features distinguished between them. Emergent use of marijuana and ‘hard’ drugs was related to depression, mistrust and attractiveness, while emergent alcohol use was related to generosity, ambition, agility and cheerfulness. These results were cross-validated in two samples of subjects. Implications of the findings for adolescent psychosocial development are discussed.

Interest as a predeterminer of the GSR index of the orienting reflex

Abstract Participants in the experiment were selected from among the membership of three university recreational clubs, surfing, fishing, and chess. Participants were further restricted to those having an exclusive recreational interest. Sixteen students selected in this manner were shown slides depicting scenes related to each of the three interests as well as unrelated filler slides. Students displayed significantly larger GSRs to slides depicting their recreational interest as compared to the other recreations and the filler slides. Results were interpreted as reflecting the expression of an OR induced by a significant stimulus.

Adolescent Drug Use and Intentions to Use Drugs in the Future: A Concurrent Analysis

The convergence between current drug use and the use of drugs in the future was studied for 1634 adolescents. About 20 per cent of the variance in future intentions about drug use could be attributed to current drug-taking behavior. Furthermore, the intention to use a specific drug in the future is related to previous experience with a wide class of drugs, rather than only experience with that particular substance. The overall pattern suggests sources other than previous drug experience must be considered in attempting to explain intentions for future use.

Severe aggression in rats induced by mescaline but not other hallucinogens

Pairs of male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine (DMPEA), or 5-hydroxydopamine (5-OHDA) IP prior to being placed in a shock-elicited aggression situation. When foot shock was delivered, controls struck each other with their forepaws, but never engaged in either biting or injurious fighting. Mescaline-treated rats (50 or 250 mg) rarely struck each other, but engaged in nearly lethal biting. While LSD (25–400 μg/kg), psilocin (2.0 mg/kg), and DMT (5 mg/kg) produced some biting, this did not significantly differ from controls and never resulted in injuries. At higher doses, psilocin, DMT, and DMPEA decreased the amount and intensity of fighting. Rats treated with 5-OHDA (8–200 mg/kg) or LSD (25–400 μg/kg) did not differ from controls. These results suggest that mescalines ability to induce pathological aggression in rats exposed to foot shock is not shared by other hallucinogens or nonhallucinogenic mescaline analogues.

Mescaline produces pathological aggression in rats regardless of age or strain.

Several measures of aggressive behavior were investigated in three ages (40-50, 90-110, and 180-200 days old) and in three strains (Sprague-Dawley, Wistar, and Long-Evans) of rats before and following the administration of mescaline hydrochloride in a shock-elicited aggression situation. The measures included the number of fights, duration of fighting, latency of fighting, number of bites inflicted, and a composite index of pathological aggression. During predrug baseline testing it was found that older rats, regardess of strain, engaged in more frequent fights that were longer in duration and more intense than younger animals. When the animals were tested with mescaline, they engaged in significantly more fights, biting, and pathological aggression than during baseline testing regardless of their age of strain. These results suggest that mescaline-induced pathological aggression in rats is a robust phenomenon.