Title: The impact of mediating factors on youth social capital and substance use

Authors: Ali Unlu; Ismail Sahin

Addresses: Istanbul Police Department, Narcotics Division, Turkish National Police, Vatan Cad. B-Blok, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey ' Turkish National Police, Turkish International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC), Necatibey Cad. No: 108/B 06580 Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate how the impact of social capital on youth behaviour varies by mediating factors and to suggest evidence-based policy interventions. The type of activities adolescents participate in, the time and type of intra-familial interactions between parents and adolescents and the type of peer groups adolescents interact with were employed as indicators of social capital. The study examined the variation in substance use among youth by age, gender, ethnicity, income level and mobility. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2007 was employed and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for hypothesis testing. Findings show that there is a relationship between youth substance use and social capital. While peer influence is positively correlated with substance use, family attachment and youth activities have a negative relationship with substance use. The impact of social capital varies by age, gender, ethnicity, mobility and income level. Furthermore, those mediating factors have strong relationships with the creation of social capital.

Keywords: social capital; substance use; youth behaviour; young people; adolescents; mediating factors; age; gender; ethnicity; income level; mobility; intra-familial interactions; parents; peer groups; drug use; structural equation modelling; SEM; family attachment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2015.068848

International Journal of Public Policy, 2015 Vol.11 No.1/2/3, pp.110 - 127

Received: 17 Feb 2014
Accepted: 25 Jul 2014

Published online: 15 Apr 2015 *

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