Substance Use Profiles Among Juvenile Offenders: A Lifestyles Theoretical Perspective

• Date: 01 July 2017
• Author: Evan C. McCuish
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042617699197
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042617699197

Journal of Drug Issues

2017, Vol. 47(3) 448 –466

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042617699197

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Article

Substance Use Profiles Among

Juvenile Offenders: A Lifestyles

Theoretical Perspective

Evan C. McCuish1

Abstract

Base rates of illicit substances such as cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin are typically low in

community-based studies, which often inhibit more complex multivariate analysis. Additionally,

single-item measures and aggregate scales mask within-group differences among those showing

versatility in their substance use. Latent class analysis was used to model the substance use

profiles of adjudicated female (n = 98) and male (n = 378) youth. Alcohol, marijuana, acid,

mushrooms, ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, crystal methamphetamine, and nonmedical

use of prescription pills were used to define latent profiles of substance use. Three latent classes

were identified that were qualitatively different across males and females. Multinomial logistic

regression analyses indicated that time spent outside of the home of the biological parents, early

substance use, and parental substance abuse were informative of the use of substances such as

cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. Implications for more individualized treatment strategies

are discussed.

Keywords

gender, latent class analysis, risky lifestyles, substance use

Although prevalence rates of substance use vary across different samples, overall, substance use

is a relatively normative part of adolescent development (Doherty, Green, & Ensminger, 2008;

Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2006; Patrick & O’Malley, 2016; Peiper,

Ridenour, Hochwalt, & Coyne-Beasley, 2016). For a small proportion of the adolescent popula-

tion, however, substance use begins earlier in the life course and is more frequent and versatile

compared with other adolescent substance users. For this small group, understanding their sub-

stance use profiles, risk factors, and appropriate treatment strategies is important for practitioners

within the criminal justice, public health, and social services sectors to, for example, help inform

case management and treatment planning (see Baron, 2006; Doherty et al., 2008; Vaughn, Salas-

Wright, DeLisi, & Piquero, 2014). Despite recommendations for more research on adolescents

who use substances such as crack cocaine and heroin (Vaughn & Howard, 2004), relatively little

is known about this group because the prevalence of the use of such substances is extremely low

within high school samples (e.g., Patrick & O’Malley, 2016). Such substances are more likely to

1Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Evan McCuish, Assistant Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby,

British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.

Email: ecm2@sfu.ca

699197JODXXX10.1177/0022042617699197Journal of Drug IssuesMcCuish

research-article2017

McCuish 449

be used among young offenders, youth that dropped out of school, left home, were placed in

foster care, or were living on the street (see Baron, 2006; Vaughn, Ollie, McMillen, Scott, &

Munson, 2007), and these individuals are rarely found in studies that sample from schools or

require caregiver consent to participate (e.g., Jessor & Jessor, 1978; Johnston et al., 1978;

Johnston et al., 2006). In effect, the type of research design commonly used to study adolescent

substance use, although valuable for describing the characteristics of adolescent marijuana and

alcohol use, is unlikely to include a sufficient subsample of adolescents whose substance use is

more versatile and frequent. Gilreath et al. (2014) noted the specific lack of attention to nuanced

differences in the substance use profiles of those using multiple illicit substances. Consequently,

there is also a lack of research on correlates associated with adolescents characterized by a more

versatile pattern of substance use.

The development of intervention and treatment strategies for adolescents with a versatile sub-

stance use pattern would seem particularly important given that this group is at a disproportionate

risk of experiencing a variety of negative outcomes associated with general substance use,

including family problems, health problems, and involvement in serious and violent offending

(Baron, 2006; DeLisi, Vaughn, Salas-Wright, & Jennings, 2015; Newcomb & Bentler, 1988). In

terms of the types of factors that intervention strategies should target, adolescent substance users

are more likely than nonsubstance users to be involved in a variety of other risky behaviors such

as early sexual behavior, offending, and running away from home/living on the street (e.g.,

Baron, 2006; Chassin, Flora, & King, 2004; Elliott & Morse, 1989; Raskin-White, Loeber, &

Farrington, 2008; Welte, Zhang, & Wieczorek, 2001). However, less is known about within-

group differences among adolescent substance users and whether involvement in risky behaviors

and an associated lifestyle help explain within-group heterogeneity in substance use profiles. A

better understanding of the correlates of a more frequent or more versatile substance use pattern

is important for helping prevent negative outcomes (e.g., serious and violent offending) for the

types of substance users most likely to experience such outcomes (DeLisi et al., 2015).

Using a sample of adjudicated Canadian adolescent males and females (n = 476), the current

study examined heterogeneity in adolescent substance use profiles using latent class analysis

(LCA). There is a noted absence of females within studies of substance use within at-risk adoles-

cent populations (e.g., Baron, 2006; Chassin, Knight, Vargas-Chanes, Losoya, & Naranjo, 2009),

and there is some evidence from community studies that substance use patterns differ across

males and females (Newcomb, Maddahian & Bentler, 1986). Thus, a specific purpose of this

analysis was to evaluate whether female and male substance use profiles differed. Another aim

of this study involved examining whether negative lifestyle factors were associated with specific

substance use profiles. Within this sample, drug use was common (i.e., approximately 99%) and

participants used a wide range of different substances (i.e., approximately 75% used at least three

different substances). In effect, these were the types of adolescent substance users that are con-

cerning to treatment providers and policy makers because they are more likely to be associated

with several other treatment needs (e.g., homelessness, mental disorder, offending, parental con-

flict; see Baron, 2006; DeLisi et al., 2015; Newcomb & Bentler, 1988).

Substance Use and the Low Base Rate Problem

As noted by Baron (2006) and others (e.g., Hagan & McCarthy, 1997), most research concerns

community or student populations and the relationship between substance use and minor delin-

quency. Within these studies, substance use is often aggregated into different categories (e.g.,

“hard drug use”), combined into a cumulative measure, or based on single-item indicators of

substances more common to the general population (e.g., alcohol, marijuana). Using these

broader measures is necessary because the base rate of more concerning types of substances (e.g.,

cocaine, heroin, crystal methamphetamine) is too low for statistical analysis (e.g., Agrawal,