Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and self-esteem: A comparison of 15-16-year-olds from France and the UK

Miller, Patrick; Plant, Martin; Choquet, Marie; Ledoux, Sylvie

Abstract

This paper compares samples of 15-16-year-olds from the UK and France on their use of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (Rosenberg 1965) and on the relationships between total self-esteem and substance use. On all 10 of the scale items French students used the extreme ratings to a far greater extent than did UK students. However, the means and standard deviations obtained on adding up the 10 item scores were similar. In both countries, boys showed higher self-esteem than girls and heavy cigarette smoking was associated with low self-esteem. There were no other significant relationships between self-esteem and substance use for the French children, but there were several such, particularly for girls, in the UK.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 6, 2002
• Journal: Journal of Substance Use
• Print ISSN: 1465-9891
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-9942
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 71-77
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14659890210132090
• Keywords: substance use, self-esteem, teenagers
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1081166
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14659890210132090