La relación entre autoestima y consumo de drogas en los adolescentesun análisis longitudinal

Abstract

The relationship between self-esteem and drug use has been subjected to a great deal of controversy within the research field of social deviancy. Though several theoretical models and variuus community programs have stressed the importance of self-esteem in relation to drug use, the empirical evidence suggests that the relationship between the two variables is weak and inconsistent. To clarify, in part, the state of this field knowledge, this study examines the relationship between self-esteem and drug from a multidimensional and longitudinal approach. The sample consisted of 1549 adolescents (719 males and 830 females), who were contacted twice with a 1-year interval. The rersult underline the importance of taking into account the multidimensional nature of self-esteem to analyse the relationship between self-esteem and drug use. Moreover, our results show that the reciprocal effects between self-esteem and drug use are remarkably weak. This finding should be taken into account by intervention programs