Publication year: 2011
Source: Social Science & Medicine, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 24 March 2011
David W., Brook , Elizabeth, Rubenstone , Chenshu, Zhang , Neo K., Morojele , Judith S., Brook
This is the first study to examine the pathways from environmental stressors to substance use among a sample of South African adolescents (N=2,195). The study objective was to assess how environmental stressors might affect cigarette smoking and alcohol use among South African adolescents, and to focus on one mechanism, low well-being, which might mediate this association. Participants consisted of 2,195 Black, mixed ancestry (“Coloured”), Indian, and White youth, aged 12 to 17 years old (mean age=14.6; SD=1.8), recruited via a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure in Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Data were collected via individual in-person structured interviews,…