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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6605-4365

Date Available

5-17-2028

Year of Publication

2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Family Sciences

Faculty

Alexander T. Vazsonyi

Abstract

Adolescents are at heightened risk for engaging in a number of problem behaviors, including substance use. Conversely, and related to this, they are also at greater risk for being victimized, due to bullying behaviors, for instance. Therefore, it is paramount to better understand whether and how individual differences, school contextual factors, and country-level factors might interact to explain both risks for problem behaviors as well as victimization. The present dissertation includes three studies which focused on individual, school, and culture contextual factors in understanding adolescent substance use as well as bullying victimization.

Study 1 sought to test whether country level contextual factors (aggregated low self-control, prison population, poverty rate, and migration rates) explain variability in two measures of substance use, namely both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use) among adolescents, net the effects by known individual-level correlates, school-level correlates and country-level correlates across thirty-five countries. The current study employed multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling (MLM/HLM) and to address missing data problems in the random slopes model, a multilevel, multiple imputation with 20 imputed datasets was completed using Blimp. Results showed that at the country level, higher poverty rates were positively associated with lifetime and recent soft drug use, whereas higher immigration rates were associated with lower levels of both hard and soft drug use. However, size of the prison population and aggregated low self-control were unrelated to either soft or hard drug use. At the individual level, higher respondent's age, sex (being male), students with low self-control, parental closeness, ones experiencing more traumatic life events and discrimination were positively associated with both lifetime and recent soft drug use. On the other hand, SES and parental monitoring were negatively associated with lifetime and recent soft drug use. At school level, the results showed that a positive school climate was negatively associated with both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use). Moreover, high levels of disorganization at school and attending a public school were positively associated with both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use).

Study 2 tested the longitudinal, bidirectional relationships between three school environment characteristics, namely school attachment, school climate, and feelings of safety at school, and bullying victimization in a sample of Czech adolescents. Data were collected as part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth (BLSY), which followed N = 570 adolescents 6th and 7th grade students (mean age = 12.43 years, SD=0.66) over two years, with four waves of data collection. A cross-lagged panel model was tested for potential reciprocal effects between school environmental factors and bullying victimization. Results from longitudinal predictive models indicated that higher levels of school attachment and more positive school climate at Time 1 consistently predicted lower levels of bullying victimization at subsequent waves. Feelings of safety at school also predicted lower victimization, although this association was less consistent across time points. Overall, findings showed that school attachment and school climate primarily functioned as protective antecedents of bullying victimization, whereas perceived feeling of safety demonstrated stable bidirectional associations, acting as both a cause and consequence of bullying victimization.

Study 3 tested the longitudinal associations between low self-control and substance use, and the extent to which school environmental factors (school attachment, school climate, and feelings of safety) directly or indirectly influence this relationship among Czech adolescents, as a potential mediator or moderator. Data were collected as part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth (BLSY), which followed 6th and 7th grade Czech adolescents (N = 570; Mean age = 12.43 years, SD = .66) over two years. Using structural equation modeling, the study tested the longitudinal associations between low self-control and adolescent substance use, both as direct as well as indirect effects by low self-control, and as mediated by school attachment, positive school climate, and perceived safety. Results indicated that low self-control and school-based social bonds functioned as largely independent and direct predictors of substance use, rather than operating through mediation or moderation processes. Specifically, higher levels of self-control, stronger school attachment, and more positive school climate were consistently associated with lower levels of subsequent substance use, whereas perceived school safety showed positive association with substance use.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.303

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