Randall C. Swaim

Violent Media Content and Aggressiveness in Adolescents A Downward Spiral Model

Theory and research on media violence provides evidence that aggressive youth seek out media violence and that media violence prospectively predicts aggression in youth. The authors argue that both relationships, when modeled over time, should be mutually reinforcing, in what they call a downward spiral model. This study uses multilevel modeling to examine individual growth curves in aggressiveness and violent media use. The measure of use of media violence included viewing action films, playing violent computer and video games, and visiting violence-oriented Internet sites by students from 20 middle schools in 10 different regions in the United States. The findings appear largely consistent with the proposed model. In particular, concurrent effects of aggressiveness on violent-media use and concurrent and lagged effects of violent media use on aggressiveness were found. The implications of this model for theorizing about media effects on youth, and for bridging active audience with media effects perspectives, are discussed.

The driving anger expression inventory: a measure of how people express their anger on the road.

Four ways people express their anger when driving were identified. Verbal Aggressive Expression (alpha=0.88) assesses verbally aggressive expression of anger (e.g., yelling or cursing at another driver); Personal Physical Aggressive Expression (alpha=0.81), the ways the person uses him/herself to express anger (e.g., trying to get out and tell off or have a physical fight with another driver); Use of the Vehicle to Express Anger (alpha=0.86), the ways the person uses his/her vehicle to express anger (e.g., flashing lights at or cutting another driver off in anger); and Adaptive/Constructive Expression (alpha=0.90), the ways the person copes positively with anger (e.g., focuses on safe driving or tries to relax). Aggressive forms can be summed into Total Aggressive Expression Index (alpha=0.90). Aggressive forms of expression correlated positively with each other (rs=0.39-0.48), but were uncorrelated or correlated negatively with adaptive/constructive expression (rs=-0.02 to -0.22). Aggressive forms of anger expression correlated positively with driving-related anger, aggression, and risky behavior; adaptive/constructive expression tended to correlate negatively with these variables. Differences in the strengths of correlations and regression analyses supported discriminant and incremental validity and suggested forms of anger expression contributed differentially to understanding driving-related behaviors. Theoretical and treatment implications were explored.

Links from emotional distress to adolescent drug use: a path model.

Administered anonymous surveys asking about drug use, emotional distress, and peer drug associations to 11th and 12th grade high school students (N = 563). Emotional distress variables accounted for only 4.8% of the variance in drug use. The addition of peer drug associations as a predictor variable increased the variance accounted for to 43.4%. A path model of adolescent drug use based on peer cluster theory was tested using LISREL, and this provided a good fit with the data. As predicted, peer drug associations dominated the prediction of drug use and mediated the effect of emotional distress on drug use, with the exception of a small residual path directly from anger to drug use. The hypothesis that young people take drugs to alleviate emotional distress does not hold up well; emotional distress variables, with the exception of anger, produced only very small and indirect links to drug use.

The effect of school dropout rates on estimates of adolescent substance use among three racial/ethnic groups.

OBJECTIVES This study examined, across three racial/ethnic groups, how the inclusion of data on drug use of dropouts can alter estimates of adolescent drug use rates. METHODS Self-report rates of lifetime prevalence and use in the previous 30 days were obtained from Mexican American, White non-Hispanic, and Native American student (n = 738) and dropouts (n = 774). Rates for the age cohort (students and dropouts) were estimated with a weighted correction formula. RESULTS Rates of use reported by dropouts were 1.2 to 6.4 times higher than those reported by students. Corrected rates resulted in changes in relative rates of use by different ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS When only in-school data are available, errors in estimating drug use among groups with high rates of school dropout can be substantial. Correction of student-based data to include drug use of dropouts leads to important changes in estimated levels of drug use and alters estimates of the relative rates of use for racial/ethnic minority groups with high dropout rates.

American Indian Adolescent Drug Use and Socialization Characteristics A Cross-Cultural Comparison

The socialization variables of family strength, religious identification, school adjustment, family sanctions against drug use and peer associations correlate with youth drug abuse. A path model testing the relationships between these variables among Anglo youths has shown that peer drug associations mediate the influence of the other factors and that with minor exceptions peers are likely to be the dominating force in youth drug abuse. The current study applied the same path model to a group of American Indian youths and the findings were replicated with two important exceptions. Peer drug associations, although still dominant in the model, were not as highly correlated with drug use for Indian youths, and family sanctions against drugs had a direct influence on drug use in addition to an indirect influence. Differences in family dynamics among American Indian youths may account for the findings; they may associate more with and learn about drug use from same-aged siblings and other relatives in the extended family, and they may have a greater number of adult family figures to apply sanctions against drug use.

Factor Structure and Invariance of the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale among American Indian and Mexican American Youth

Some theories and measures of cultural identification are based on a unidimensional continuum, requiring that, as identification with one culture increases, identification with another decreases. Others, such as multicultural theories, allow high identification with different cultures but rarely incorporate low identification. Orthogonal cultural identification theory specifies that identification with one culture can be independent of identification with another Short scales have been developed to assess orthogonal cultural identification, applicable across a variety of cultures. Comparisons of measurement models indicated that, for both Mexican American and American Indian adolescents, measures of minority and White American cultural identification are, as predicted, independent and that cultural identification is strongly rooted in the family. Although minor ethnicity differences occurred in a few higher order paths, multigroup tests indicated essential invariance of factor loadings and higher order structure across gender, grade level, and ethnic minority group.

The driver's angry thoughts questionnaire: A measure of angry cognitions when driving

Five forms of driving-related angry cognitions were identified—Judgmental/Disbelieving Thinking (α = .94), Pejorative Labeling/Verbally Aggressive Thinking (α = .92), Revenge/Retaliatory Thinking (α = .93), Physically Aggressive Thinking (α = .93), and Coping Self-instruction (α = .83). Pejorative labeling/verbally aggressive, physically aggressive, and revengeful/retaliatory thinking correlated positively with each other and with driving anger, aggressive driving anger expression, aggression, and risky driving behavior. Coping self-instruction tended to correlate negatively with these variables. Judgmental/disbelieving thinking correlated positively with other forms of angry thinking, but was only somewhat correlated with other variables. Driving-related angry thoughts, except coping self-instruction, correlated positively with general hostile automatic thoughts. Differences in strengths of correlations with specific variables, and contributions to regression analyses supported the discriminant and incremental validity of driving-related angry thoughts. Implications for cognitive processes in anger and interventions were discussed.

An epidemiological comparison of Mexican-American and white non-Hispanic 8th- and 12th-grade students' substance use.

Surveys of drug and alcohol use were conducted with a national probability sample of 8th- and 12th-grade Mexican-American and White non-Hispanic youth. The drug and alcohol epidemiology is representative of US Mexican-American youth residing in communities with populations of 2500 or more, at least 10% of whom are Mexican Americans. Mexican-American 8th graders reported generally higher rates of use than White non-Hispanics based on life-time prevalence and use in last month. They also reported higher frequency of high-risk drug behaviors. The pattern was reversed among 12th-grade students. The impact of differential school dropout rates is discussed as a probable cause for this reversal.

Structural equation socialization model of substance use among Mexican-American and white non-Hispanic school dropouts

PURPOSE To test a socialization model of polydrug use among Mexican-American and white non-Hispanic school dropouts. METHODS A sample of 910 Mexican-American and white non-Hispanic school dropouts were surveyed regarding their use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, and socialization characteristics that have previously been shown to be predictive of adolescent substance use. A structural equation model based on peer cluster theory was evaluated for goodness of fit and for differences in model characteristics by ethnicity and gender. RESULTS Results partially confirmed peer cluster theory among school dropouts in that association with drug-using peers was the most powerful direct predictor of substance use. The effects of a number of other socializing influences were indirect, mediated through association with drug-using peers. Some differences were present between Mexican-American and white non-Hispanic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Results were similar to those obtained from previous tests of this model among youth who remain in school, suggesting that social influences on drug use are similar across students and school dropouts. Association with drug-using peers dominates the prediction of substance use among school dropouts. However, family communication of drug use sanctions helps to both limit substance use and strengthen family bonds. Prior school adjustment is likely to be an important protective factor in limiting substance use among Mexican-American dropouts.

Indian and Anglo Adolescent Alcohol Use and Emotional Distress: Path Models

Anonymous surveys of alcohol use and emotional distress of 11th and 12th grade students were administered to 327 reservation Indian adolescents and 524 Anglo adolescents. Path models based on peer cluster theory were developed and tested. Results argue against a self-medication theory of adolescent alcohol use. Emotional distress variables had little effect on alcohol involvement, with the exception of anger which operated in opposite directions for the two groups. The highest relationship with alcohol involvement in both groups was with peer alcohol associations, confirming the a priori hypothesis that much of adolescent alcohol use is linked to peer associations. Those relationships, however, were much stronger in Anglo youth, suggesting that alcohol may be used more frequently in nonpeer situations by Indian youth, or at least in situations where the peers are not those close friends who have very similar patterns of alcohol use. The most important difference between Indian and Anglo youth, however, may be the role that anger plays in alcohol involvement. In Anglo youth, anger may be associated with problem behaviors including alcohol use. In Indian youth, higher anger is linked to higher self-esteem, and tends to reduce alcohol use.