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School Climate And Adolescent Drug Use: Mediating Effects Of Violence Victimization In The Urban High School Context, Robert Reid, N. Andrew Peterson, Joseph Hughey, Pauline Garcia-Reid

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

This study tested the mediating effects of violence victimization in the relationship between school climate and adolescent drug use. The hypothesized path model fit data collected from a probability sample of urban high school students (N=586) participating in an evaluation of a violence prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Findings indicated that the lack of enforcement of school rules and the presence of unsafe places in and around the school influenced adolescent drug use directly and indirectly through their effects on violence victimization. Editors' Strategic Implications: This research confirms the importance of the environment …