Adolescents' substance-related risk perceptions: antecedents, mediators and consequences

Meg Gerrard, Frederick X. Gibbons, Linda S. Vande Lune, Nancy A. Pexa and Michelle L. Gano

Risk, Decision and Policy, 2002, vol. 7, issue 2, 175-191

Abstract: The current study examined the hypothesis that adolescents' absolute and comparative perceptions of vulnerability to potential negative consequences of substance use mediate the relation between traditional predictors of use, and actual substance use. The data support the hypothesis in that absolute risk perceptions mediate the relations between parental communication about substances, peer substance use and risk-taking tendency, and subsequent adolescent use. Comparative risk perceptions, however, are only weakly related to these three predictors, and do not predict subsequent use. The data also replicate earlier findings that behavioral willingness mediates the relation between risk perceptions and behavior. Methodological and applied implications are discussed.

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/ ... type/journal_article link to article abstract page (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:rdepol:v:7:y:2002:i:02:p:175-191_00

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Risk, Decision and Policy from Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press, UPH, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Kirk Stebbing ().