National Survey of Adolescents in the United States, 1995 (ICPSR 2833)

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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

Childhood victimization has been found to be strongly related to substance use/abuse/dependence, delinquent behavior, and a variety of other mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. In the past, studies have either examined victimization by studying family violence and ignored other victimization experiences, or have assessed criminal violence and disregarded violence perpetrated by family members. This study assessed both familial and nonfamilial violence. The goal of the study was to test specific hypotheses generated by a theoretically and empirically constructed conceptual framework that illustrated the relationships among serious victimization experiences, the mental health effects of victimization, substance use/abuse, and delinquent behavior. The research objectives were (1) to provide descriptive information about cases of familial and nonfamilial violent assault, delinquent behavior, mental health problems, and substance use, abuse, and dependence, broken down by age, gender, family income, and racial/ethnic group among American adolescents, (2) to test a risk factor model that hypothesized relationships between violent familial and nonfamilial victimization in childhood and adolescence and risk of post traumatic stress disorder, delinquent behavior, and substance use, abuse, and dependence, and (3) to examine potential differences between gender and ethnic minority groups in the correlates and consequences of substance use/abuse/dependence and delinquent behavior. The primary hypothesis of this study was that victimization during childhood and/or adolescence increased the risk of developing significant psychological distress and substance use, which in turn increased risk for substance abuse or dependence, delinquent behavior, and subsequent victimization.

Study Design View help for Study Design

The study was designed as a telephone survey of American youth between the ages of 12-17 who (1) were living in United States households with telephones, (2) resided with a parent or guardian, and (3) could converse in English or Spanish. All sample selection and interviewing was done by Schulman, Ronca, and Bucuvalas, Inc. (SRBI), a New York-based survey research team. All interviews with both parents and adolescents were conducted using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) technology. After determining that the household contained one or more eligible adolescents, interviewers asked to speak to a parent or guardian. One parent or guardian in each household was interviewed briefly to establish rapport, secure permission to interview the targeted adolescent, and to ensure the collection of comparative data to examine potential nonresponse bias from households without adolescent participation. Parents and guardians were provided the opportunity to call a toll-free number to confirm the authenticity of the study. Whenever possible, adolescents were interviewed immediately following the parent or guardian interviews. Otherwise, appointments were scheduled when possible or blind callbacks at different times of the day or days of the week were made. As an incentive for participation, adolescent participants received a certificate of participation in the "National Survey of Adolescents" and a check for five dollars as compensation for their time. From the surveys of parents and adolescents, the principal investigators created one data file by attaching the data from the parents to the records of their respective adolescents.

Sample View help for Sample

Stratified random sample.

Universe View help for Universe

Adolescents aged 12-17 in the United States.

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Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Adolescents were asked whether violence and drug abuse were problems in their schools and communities and what types of violence they had personally witnessed. They were also asked about other stressful events in their lives, such as the loss of a family member, divorce, unemployment, moving to a new home or school, serious illness or injury, and natural disaster. Questions regarding history of sexual assault, physical assault, and harsh physical discipline elicited a description of the event and perpetrator, extent of injuries, age at abuse, whether alcohol or drugs were involved, and who was informed of the incident. Information was also gathered on the delinquent behavior of respondents and their friends, including destruction of property, assault, theft, sexual assault, and gang activity. Other questions covered history of personal and family substance use and mental health indicators, such as major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, weight changes, sleeping disorders, and problems concentrating. Demographic information was gathered from the adolescents on age, race, gender, number of people living in household, and grade in school. Parents were asked whether they were concerned about violent crime, affordable child care, drug abuse, educational quality, gangs, and the safety of their children at school. In addition, they were questioned about their own victimization experiences and whether they discussed personal safety issues with their children. Parents also supplied demographic information on gender, marital status, number of children, employment status, education, race, and income.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Parents in 90.1 percent of eligible households completed interviews and parents in 78.9 percent of eligible households gave permission for their adolescents to be interviewed. Adolescent interviews were completed in 75 percent of eligible households, 83.2 percent of households with completed parent interviews, and 95 percent of households with parental permission.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Several Likert-type scales were used.

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Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2000-06-05

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