Stages of Drug Use

Abstract
Three models reflecting stages of substance use (alcohol use/alcohol and marijuana use/polydrug use) were tested using path analysis to examine subsamples of 626 to 850 subjects. Overall, high school bonds contributed little toward an explanation of substance use. Religiosity and religious conservatism accounted for some of the variance in substance use, primarily underage drinking. Results suggest that explanations of substance use can be enhanced through development of models employing stages of drug involvement.