| This study examines the ability of the social development model to predict inhalant use among adolescents. Despite the dangers and increased use of inhalants by adolescents, this particular category of substance use receives relatively little attention among researchers. Using the social development model, samples of fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade Delaware public school students surveyed to examine the association between prosocial and antisocial influences and substance use. Structural equation models were used to investigate the socializing influences of the family, school, and peer group to determine the most important predictors of adolescent inhalant use at each grade level. Results indicate that antisocial influences regarding peer, family, and school agents of socialization were predictive of inhalant use at different stages of adolescent development. Contrary to the proposed hypotheses of the elementary and high school submodels, peer influences were the strongest predictors of past year inhalant use among young adolescents, but were not a significant predictor among older adolescents. The middle school submodel was found to adequately predict past year inhalant use as proposed by the social development model. Implications for prevention and future research are discussed. |
