Data and Methodological Innovations in Substance Use Research

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

The papers in this panel examine geographic, familial, interpersonal, and situational contexts of risk factors for substance use during adolescence and into adulthood. Within these multiple contexts, the scholarship herein addresses several contemporary critical issues in substance use: social network accessibility of licit and illicit substances, rising rates of use among rural youth, the role of geography in patterning risks and opportunities for use, the intersection of parenting and social class in shaping use risks, and the link between victimization experiences and subsequent use. The papers draw on an array of data sources, from national and state sources—NLSY97, Communities that Care (CTC), Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)—to targeted, unique, local studies of highly vulnerable populations (homeless youth). All of the papers are innovative in terms of how they approach the topic of substance use, with respect to their data set, focal predictors, and/or methodological/analytic strategies. The four papers advance and extend criminological attention to substance use in several ways, such as by examining geographic contexts beyond the urban/rural dichotomy, focusing on parent-child dyads, incorporating network-based analytic techniques, and utilizing ecological momentary assessment strategies (via texting-based survey data collection methods) to gauge “real-time” situational circumstances and subsequent behaviors.

Sub Unit

• Area IV. Correlates of Crime / 14. Substance Use and Abuse

Individual Presentations

• Nothing to Do, Nobody Cares: Unpacking Geographic Variation in Adolescent Substance Use - Courtney Thrash, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Tara Warner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Ready Access to Four Types of Illegal Drugs in Nebraska: Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Prescription Pills - Patrick Habecker, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Kirk Dombrowski, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Marijuana in the Basement: Examining the Effect of Social Class-Conditioned Parenting on Adolescent Substance Use - Rachel Wolsey, Bowling Green State University

• Examining the Link between Victimization and Substance Use among Homeless Youth: An Ecological Momentary Assessment - Kimberly Tyler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Kristen Olson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Colleen Ray, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Chair

• Tara Warner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln