Gender Differences In Adolescent Drug Use

Abstract

This study investigates gender differences in adolescent drug use in terms of parental monitoring and peer deviance. Females are found to be more highly monitored than males, whereas males are more exposed to deviant peers than are females. There is a significant interaction between parental monitoring and peer deviance for the sample as a whole. The effect of this interaction is greater among females, indicating that exposure to deviant peers is more important for the drug use of females in families where parental monitoring is poor.