Longitudinal Relations Among Negative Affect, Substance Use, and Peer Deviance - Essay Example

During mid and late adolescents the teenagers are faced by multitude of problems, and this is the stage where, we find the teenagers experimenting with deviant behaviors like delinquency, crime and substance use. This is the stage where most teenagers suffer with their weight as they want to look like their friends, or a public figure, which they emulate. The transition from middle to late adolescence brings in many challenges and complexities that increase the risks for behavioral, emotional and social problems.

This article looks at the relationship of adolescent substance use, negative affects and peer deviance. The social actions carried out by the teenagers affect their social relations with others both negatively and positively. The likely hood of a social action initiated during the mid adolescence to continue in late adolescence depends with the motivation and the consequences of the action. Research question The research question was. -Is there relationship between negative effects, substance use, and peer deviance during the transitional stage from middle adolescence to late adolescence in United States?

Literature review Evidence shows that there is longitudinal interrelationship between adolescence negative effects, substance use and peer deviance, although the exact nature of this relationship is not clear. During the transition from the middle to late adolescence, most teens experience mobility and freedom, as they move from their families preparing for educational, interpersonal and vocational requirements of early adulthood (Mason, Hitch and Spoth 2). In this stage, teens are affected by many complex situations, which are, behavioral and emotional, and these lead to negative effects like hopelessness and depression, which increase rapidly throughout out the teenage years.

These negative effects are more common in girls as compared to the boys. Substance use sets in during middle adolescence, and rapidly increases during late adolescence, with cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking being the chief forms of substance abuse. Research done has shown that the rising influence of substance abuse on peers contributes to the behavioral and emotional problems that the teens face in late adolescence. Substances are used to alleviate symptoms of dysphoria, according to self medication hypothesis, thus expecting positive outcome from the negative effects.

Research shows that negative effects in the middle adolescence encourage an increased use of substance in late adolescence. A causal factor, however, can go in the opposite direction, that is, substance use to negative effect, according to the impaired functioning hypothesis (Mason, Hitch and Spoth 3). Pharmacological effects of nicotine and alcohol are known to alter the brain reward system, and together with the drug experience, increase the occurrence of negative effects. Substance use also interferes with the complete developmental tasks associated with functions in family, school and peer contexts, hence increasing the negative effects.

The impaired functioning hypothesis argues that use of substance in middle adolescence automatically increases in late adolescence. The conformity hypothesis suggests that peer deviance is promoted by negative effect, because negative effect can bring difficulties in developing and maintaining