Self-Perception and Relative Increases in Substance Use Problems in Early Adulthood

• Author: Florence Yan,Joseph Allen,Meghan Costello
• Published date: 01 October 2020
• Date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0022042620941812
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042620941812

Journal of Drug Issues

2020, Vol. 50(4) 538 –549

© The Author(s) 2020

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0022042620941812

journals.sagepub.com/home/jod

Article

Self-Perception and Relative

Increases in Substance Use

Problems in Early Adulthood

Florence Yan1, Meghan Costello1,

and Joseph Allen1

Abstract

This study assessed self-perception as a long-term predictor of relative changes in problems

related to alcohol and marijuana use in early adulthood. Self-report questionnaires were

completed by a community sample of 124 individuals in the Southeastern United States who

were followed longitudinally from age 19 to 27. More problems due to substance use at age

27 were predicted by participants’ negative perceptions of their social acceptance, romantic

appeal, and self-worth. Predictions remained after accounting for potential confounds including

gender, income, and baseline substance use problems at age 19. Social avoidance and distress in

new situations at age 19 mediated the relationship between self-perception and relative changes

in substance use problems, such that increases in substance use problems from age 19 to 27

were potentially explainable by the linkage of negative self-perceptions to social avoidance and

distress in new situations.

Keywords

substance use, self-esteem, self-perception, alcohol, marijuana, social anxiety, social avoidance,

social avoidance and distress, early adulthood, social context

Introduction

The early- to mid-20s is the peak age range for behaviors such as binge drinking, alcohol and

marijuana consumption, and resulting dependence (Chen & Kandel, 1995; Schulenberg &

Zarrett, 2006; Syed, 2015/2016). Nearly 20% of the 18- to 25-year-olds endorsed using mari-

juana in the past month and around 38% of the 18- to 25-year-olds endorsed binge drinking in a

2014 survey (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2015). Not only does substance

use peak at this time, but adjustment experiences during early adulthood have critical implica-

tions for an individual’s well-being for years to come (Desjardins & Leadbeater, 2017).

Self-Perception and Substance Use

The qualities of an individual’s self-perception have been repeatedly associated with substance

use (Samuels & Samuels, 1974), particularly in adolescence (Carvajal et al., 1998; Murphy &

1University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

Corresponding Author:

Florence Yan, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400, USA.

Email: fty5jf@virginia.edu

941812JODXXX10.1177/0022042620941812Journal of Drug IssuesYan et al.

research-article2020