Drug Use, Drug-Use Attitudes, and the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Dimension

Abstract

This article examines the relationships between drug use and drug-use attitudes on the one hand, and sociopolitical ideology on the other. The latter was assessed by the recently developed Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale (ARS). It was found that more rebellious respondents are generally more permissive about drugs and more likely to use drugs, notably marijuana, than their more authoritarian peers. Some theoretical, psychometric, and social-policy implications of these findings are discussed.