Contextual factors related to the CRAFFT scale: Correlates of adolescent risky behaviors

Darcey Merritt

New York University Silver School of Social Work

Darcey Merritt, Ph.D., M.S.W. is an Associate Professor at the New York University Silver School of Social Work. Her research focuses on families involved with the public child welfare system, with particular attention to the perspectives of children and parents; distinguishing between specific types of maltreatment in an effort to highlight appropriate needed resources and services; and the impact of client perceived experiences on socio-developmental and behavioral outcomes. Her work contributes to developing a more refined understanding of the characteristics of abusive and neglectful parents, the neighborhood structural impact on parenting, and parental and child well being outcomes for child welfare involved families.

Susan Snyder

Georgia State University

Dr. Susan M. Snyder is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Dr. Snyder has over a decade of practice experience in the field of child welfare, which informs her commitment to advancing research in the field. Dr. Snyder investigates the sequelae of problem behavior, including substance use and illegal behaviors, among maltreated and system-involved youth. Dr. Snyder’s research has been published in leading journals such as PLOS ONE, Children Youth Services Review, Substance Use Misuse, and Child Abuse and Neglect. In 2017 Dr. Snyder received the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Dean’s Early Career Award from Georgia State University. Dr. Snyder was also recognized as the Most Outstanding and Most Innovative Faculty Member by the 2015 MSW Class at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, before joining GSU. She received her Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and her MSW and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Abstract

Given the endogenous and contextual factors related to adolescent substance abuse, emphasis has been placed on ways in which personal demographic and situational correlates of risky behaviors impact unhealthy behavioral choices, particularly regarding adolescent perceived attributions for behavioral decisions. Investigating the explanations for these behaviors is paramount in informing appropriate strategies for encouraging healthier adolescent decision-making. Using a subsample of 900 participants over eleven years old from Wave II of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II). The dependent variable is the CRAFFT scale (Youth Substance Abuse), a standardized measure of six items. A cut-off score of 2 identifies adolescents with a DSM-IV substance use disorder. The predictor variables assess parental perceptions of problematic neighborhood on neighborhood factors. Parents who responded that unsupervised children in their neighborhoods was a problem were nearly three times more likely to score above two on the CRAFFT scale than those indicating unsupervised children was a non issue (OR = 2.82, CI 1.09, 7.29). Children indicating more affiliation with deviant peers (OR = 1.27, CI 1.17, 1.39), older children (OR = 1.49, CI 1.21, 1.83), and those living in out of home care (OR = 2.81, CI 1.36, 5.81) were more likely indicated with a DSM_IV substance use disorder in medical settings. There were no significant findings regarding maltreatment type, however, unsupervised children seen as problematic in communities could likely be considered a proxy for neighborhood level supervisory neglect. Results highlight the impact of unsupervised children within neighborhoods, deviant peers and reinforce the need to closely monitor those living in out of home care. Supervisory neglect is the most prevalent type of neglect documented, so these findings suggest a community level of supervised neglect as a risk factor for negative behavioral decision making among adolescents where it concerns substance abuse.

Authors

Darcey Merritt (New York University Silver School of Social Work)
Susan Snyder (Georgia State University)

Topic Area

Physical and Emotional/Psychological Abuse and Neglect

Session

Daily » Poster Sessions (14:00 - Wednesday, 4th October, King Willem Alexander Foyer)

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