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Jon Gunnar Bernburg
Social Science [?] Medicine 11/2009; 70(4):493-5; discussion 498-500. · 2.70 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In the current paper, we argue that the neighborhood-level of disrupted family processes (weak social ties to parents and coercive family interaction) should have a contextual effect on adolescent substance use (cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and lifetime cannabis use), because adolescents living in neighborhoods in which disrupted family processes are prevalent should be more likely to associate with deviant (substance using) peers. We use nested data on 5491 Icelandic adolescents aged 15 and 16 years in 83 neighborhoods to examine the neighborhood-contextual effects of disrupted family processes on adolescent substance use (cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and lifetime cannabis use), that is, whether neighborhoods in which disrupted family processes are common have more adolescent substance use, even after partialling out the individual-level effects of disrupted family processes on substance use. As predicted, we find that the neighborhood-levels of disrupted family processes have significant, contextual effects on all the indicators of substance use, and that association with substance using peers mediates a part of these contextual effects. The findings illustrate the limitation of an individual-level approach to adolescent substance use.
Social Science [?] Medicine 08/2009; 69(1):129-37. · 2.70 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Despite the longstanding interest of social researchers in the social factors that influence suicide and suicidal behavior, multilevel research on this topic has been limited. Using nested survey data on 5331 Icelandic adolescents (born in 1990 and 1991) in 83 school-communities, the current study examines the contextual effect of community household poverty on adolescent suicidal behavior (suicide ideation and suicide attempt). The findings show that the concentration of household poverty in the school-community has a significant, contextual effect on adolescent suicidal behavior. Furthermore, we test an "epidemic" explanation for this effect, examining the mediating role of suicide suggestion (contact with suicidal others). We find that suicide suggestion mediates a substantial part of the contextual effect of community household poverty on suicide attempt, while mediation is modest in the case of suicide ideation. The findings indicate that community household poverty increases the risk of adolescent suicidal behavior in part because communities in which household poverty is common entail a higher risk for adolescents of associating with suicidal others. The study demonstrates how the concentration of individual problems can have macrolevel implications, creating social mechanisms that cannot be reduced to the circumstances or characteristics of individuals.
Social Science [?] Medicine 12/2008; 68(2):380-9. · 2.70 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This paper explores the relationships among adolescent leisure activities, peer behavior, and substance use. We suggest that peer group interaction can have a differential effect on adolescent deviant behavior depending on the type of leisure pattern adolescents engage in. We analyze data from a representative national sample of Icelandic adolescents, exploring the variations in the use of alcohol and illegal drugs among three different patterns of leisure activity, controlling for parental ties and school commitment. The findings show that alcohol and substance use varies significantly across the three leisure patterns. Moreover, it was found that the well-known relationship between adolescent substance use and having substance-using friends is significantly contingent on the type of leisure pattern. Our findings suggest that it is important to take into account different peer leisure activities in order to understand adolescent substance use. Finally, we discuss the implications of the findings for prevention work with adolescents.
Adolescence 02/2006; 41(162):321-39. · 0.64 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The subculture of violence approach suggests that group adherence to values and norms that encourage violence influence aggressive behavior through two analytically separate processes: (1) internalization of values encouraging violence, and (2) social control stemming from others’ adherence to conduct norms. While some attention has been paid to the former process, the research has rarely addressed the latter. We examine the individual-level and contextual effects of values that encourage violence and perceived conduct norms on youth aggression in Iceland. The results indicate that group adherence to violent values and norms influences aggression through social control as well as internalization (socialization), lending cross-cultural support to the subculture of violence perspective.
Sociological Quarterly 07/2005; 46(3):457 - 478. · 1.14 Impact Factor
