Drug Use and Delinquent Behavior

• Author: Jennifer Wareham,James Schmeidler,Richard Dembo
• Published date: 01 May 2007
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296905
• Date: 01 May 2007
• Subject Matter: Articles

DRUG USE AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR
A Growth Model of Parallel Processes Among
High-Risk Youths
RICHARD DEMBO
University of South Florida, Tampa
JENNIFER WAREHAM
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
JAMES SCHMEIDLER
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City
The continuity of self-reported heavy alcohol and marijuana use and self-reported delinquency among adolescents is exam-
ined using latent growth model analyses in a sample of 278 justice-involved juveniles completing at least one of three
follow-up interviews as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse–funded study. Latent growth models are analyzed examining
(a) changes in heavy alcohol and marijuana use over time, (b) changes in delinquency over time, and (c) the contemporane-
ous, parallel processes of changes in substance use and delinquency over time. Results indicate that substance use increased
over time, whereas delinquency decreased over time. However, the growth model examining the simultaneous influence of
delinquency on substance use suggests that delinquency exacerbated substance use over time. Implications for policy and
intervention service needs are discussed.
Keywords:
alcohol use; delinquency; drug use; juvenile delinquents; latent growth models
Although the latest information on youth drug use trends suggests a noticeable decrease
in usage levels, alcohol and other drug use continue to be serious problems among
youth in the United States. According to Garnier and Stein (2002), “55% of adolescents have
used an illicit drug, 65% have tried cigarettes, and 80% have tried alcohol by the time they
leave high school” (p. 45). Estimates from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health indi-
cate that in 2003, approximately 30% of youths between ages 12 and 17 reported using illicit
drugs at least once in their lifetime (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Association, 2004). Furthermore, data from the Monitoring the Future study suggest 22% of
8th graders, 40% of 10th graders, and 51% of 12th graders reported using illicit drugs at least
once in their lifetime in 2004 (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2005).
Because substance use places individuals at higher risk for a variety of health and social
problems, including negative family consequences, poor academic performance, poor peer
relationships, health problems (both physical and mental), and involvement with the justice
AUTHORS’ NOTE: The preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant #DA08707, funded by the
National Institute on Drug Abuse. We are grateful for their support. However, the research results reported and
the views expressed in the article do not necessarily imply any policy or research endorsement by our funding
agency. Please direct correspondence to Richard Dembo, PhD, Criminology Department, University of South
Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 34, No. 5, May 2007 680-696
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296905
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology
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system, the above statistics describe an unsettling image regarding the state of American
youth.
The prevalence of substance use is particularly disturbing among delinquent youths.
National arrest data obtained from Uniform Crime Reports indicate that overall, the per-
centage of juveniles arrested between 1993 and 2002 decreased 11%; however, the number
of juveniles arrested for drug abuse violations during this same time period increased 59%
(Snyder, 2004). Moreover, juvenile arrest rates for driving under the influence (46%) and
liquor law violations (17%) also increased between 1993 and 2002 (Snyder, 2004). Even
among youths not arrested for drug- or alcohol-related offenses, substance use is a persistent
problem, with estimates suggesting that up to 78% of arrested youths were alcohol or drug
involved at the time of arrest (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2004).
Research consistently identifies a strong positive association between drug use and delin-
quency and indicates that each behavior exacerbates the risk of expressing the other (e.g.,
Dembo, Schmeidler, Pacheco, Cooper, & Williams, 1997; Ellickson & McGuigan, 2000;
Snyder & Sickmund, 1999; Tubman, Gil, & Wagner, 2004). Despite ambiguity about the
direction of the relationship between substance use and delinquency (Wagner, 1996), in gen-
eral, delinquent youths tend to be more involved in drug use than nondelinquent youths.
Indeed, many justice-involved youths use substances on a “regular” basis (Crowe, 1998;
Dembo et al., 1999; Feucht, Stephens, & Walker, 1994), and some of them have also demon-
strated heavy usage levels and substance use disorders (Atkins et al., 1999; Gray & Wish,
1998; Teplin, Abram, McClelland, Dulcan, & Mericle, 2002). Although many delinquent
youths are drug involved, it must be noted that many other delinquents do not use sub-
stances, and many young people that use substances do not commit delinquent acts (Wagner
& Kassel, 1995).
According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (2002), involve-
ment with drugs or alcohol increases the likelihood of continued and serious contact with
the juvenile justice system (see also Belenko & Sprott, 2002). Higher levels of involvement
with substance use increase the rate of offending, the severity of the committed offense, and
the duration of antisocial behavior (Greenwood, 1992; Lipsey & Derzon, 1998; Sealock,
Gottfredson, & Gallagher, 1997). Furthermore, the earlier the age of onset of substance use,
the greater the likelihood of severe and chronic offending (e.g., Loeber, Green, Lahey,
Frick, & McBurnett, 2000).
Longitudinal research identifies considerable continuity in the relationships between drug
use and delinquency as well (Brook, Whiteman, Finch, & Cohen, 1996; Loeber, Stouthamer-
Loeber, & White, 1999; Simon, 1998). Substance use and delinquent behavior have been
reported to demonstrate significant cross-temporal stability during adolescence (Brook et al.,
1996; Bui, Ellickson, & Bell, 2000; Tubman et al., 2004). Yet a majority of adolescents are
transient in their participation in alcohol and other drug use behaviors (Loeber & Farrington,
1998). Some studies also suggest that substance use, particularly heavy drug and alcohol
use, and offending have contemporaneous relationships (Horney, Osgood, & Marshall,
1995; Welte, Barnes, Hoffman, Wieczorek, & Zhang, 2005), even when controlling for per-
sonality characteristics, parental monitoring, and delinquent peer association.
The present study provides longitudinal, prospective tests of latent growth models exam-
ining self-reported heavy alcohol–marijuana use and delinquency among justice-involved
adolescents. This study contributes to the existing literature investigating the stability of
drug use and delinquency during early and late adolescence. In particular, contemporaneous

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effects of delinquency on alcohol/drug use over time are examined in an ad hoc analysis,
which examines the parallel influence of both mean and individual changes in drug use and
delinquency over time. Therefore, the present study contributes to the limited amount of
existing longitudinal literature examining the simultaneous effects between drug use and
delinquency.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURES
Participants in this study were members of a prospective, longitudinal study, called the
Youth Support Project (YSP), of youths arrested and processed at the Hillsborough County
Juvenile Assessment Center. The objective of the YSP was to examine the impact of a
10-week in-home case management intervention focusing on a systems-oriented and struc-
tural approach to family preservation for justice-involved youths (for more detail on the YSP,
see Dembo et al., 1998). Participants in the project were randomly assigned to one of two
groups: the extended services intervention or the family empowerment intervention (FEI).
Extended services intervention families served as the control group but also received a tele-
phone number that allowed them to easily access information about community agencies that
might help them with their needs. FEI families served as the treatment group, receiving a
10-week, manualized intervention with the goals of strengthening family structure and
improving family functioning (see Dembo & Schmeidler, 2002). As openings in the interven-
tionists’ caseloads became available, participants were randomly selected from an updated list
of arrested youths at the juvenile assessment center, stratified by gender and race/ethnicity.
This sampling procedure provided a good representation of African American, Latino, and
Anglo youths of both sexes and their families in the study. Of the 315 youths involved in the
4 years of the YSP between September 1, 1994, and January 31, 1998, the data in this article
include 278 (88%) youths who completed at least one follow-up interview.
Depending on the year youths entered the project, up to three annual follow-up interviews
were completed. The final sample consisted of Year 2 interview data on 278 (86.3%) youths,
Year 3 interview data on 170 (85.0%) youths, and Year 4 interview data on 90 (75.8%)
youths. For Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4, 6.0%, 6.0%, and 7.5% of the youths, respectively,
refused to be reinterviewed, with the remaining cases being lost to attrition. Most youths
were interviewed at home or in another community location; however, some were inter-
viewed in secure settings, such as...