...analysis to examine the relationship between social capital and substance use by high school students. Results suggest that social capital is a significant contributor to adolescent substance use where increased social capital is associated with decreased alcohol use. Opportunities for schools and communities to invest in strategies that foster the development of social capital and reduce adolescent substance use are discussed.

While tobacco and marijuana use by adolescents has been declining in recent years, adolescent use trends for many other drugs have been on the rise. In 2004, the lifetime use of inhalants and cocaine increased significantly for adolescents, coupled by a decrease in the perceived risk of these substances (National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2004). A continuing area of concern is the high rate of nonmedical use of prescription pain killers, like Vicodin and OxyContin, in each grade level (NIDA, 2004). Moreover, despite the many national, state, and local anti-drug campaigns targeting youth and adolescents, rates of alcohol, heroin, crack cocaine, PCP, amphetamines, and prescription drug (e.g., Ritalin and Rohypnol) use remained unchanged from 2003 to 2004 (NIDA, 2004). The number of adolescents using these substances in the United States remains high and cause for concern.

One potential explanation for problems like substance use by adolescents is a decline in the effectiveness of the social institutions that these adolescents depend on for support and guidance (Lee & Croninger, 1996). In other words, youth may be engaging in substance use and abuse at alarming rates--and at such young ages--because within the last 15 to 25 years, the social ties and resources that children require to develop into productive and happy adults have occupied less and less space in the social fabric of the United States. This overall trend of increasing engagement in substance use behavior by youth, coupled by diminishing adult-guided supportive networks and pro-social normative traditions for youth, is cause for investigation.

Social Capital

Social capital, or advantage that is captured through social relations (Lin, 2001), is a construct that has only entered the realm of educational research and application in the last 25 years. However, the idea of people and groups forming relationships based on trust and reciprocity, and the inherent value of such action, seems not only universal, but long recognized. In cultures across the world, notions regarding the importance of social capital are inherent in such colloquialisms as, "United we stand, divided we fall," "One finger cannot lift a pebble," and "Rich together, poor if separated" (Kreuter & Lezin, 2002).

While precise definitions of social capital across the literature may differ, specific dimensions of the construct appear to be common across theorists and disciplines: Social capital is defined by its function; Rather than existing as an individual possession, social capital is considered to be a property of an individual's relationships with others; Social capital is expressed by norm-sharing, reciprocal, cooperative, trusting networks that, through collective action, enable individual members to garner scarce resources for themselves (Kreuter & Lezin, 2002).

In effect, social capital is not one precise thing, but a multidimensional construct that accounts for the superior strength, and potential for progress, of groups over individuals. While the impacts of social capital are many--economic, cultural, educational, social, behavioral, or political--the construct operates through just one medium: social relations.

The Development of Social Capital: Norms and Closure

Two characteristics of groups have surfaced in the social capital literature as invaluable to the development of social capital within groups. A commonly held belief system, or collectively held norms, is one of those characteristics. When a social or cultural norm is accepted and enforced by a system, whether that system is a family, school or other organization, or community, it serves not only as a binding force between members, but also as a method of shaping behavior: acceptable behaviors are rewarded, while unacceptable behaviors are...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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