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The role of the self‐fulfilling prophecy in young adolescents' responsiveness to a substance use prevention program
Author(s) -
Madon Stephanie,
Guyll Max,
Scherr Kyle C.,
Willard Jennifer,
Spoth Richard,
Vogel David L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12126
Subject(s) - psychology , substance use , developmental psychology , perception , social psychology , clinical psychology , neuroscience
This research examined whether naturally occurring self‐fulfilling prophecies influenced adolescents' responsiveness to a substance use prevention program. The authors addressed this issue with a unique methodological approach that was designed to enhance the internal validity of research on naturally occurring self‐fulfilling prophecies by experimentally controlling for prediction without influence. Participants were 321 families who were assigned to an adolescent substance use prevention program that either did or did not systematically involve parents. Results showed that parents' perceptions about the value of involving parents in adolescent substance use prevention predicted adolescents' alcohol use more strongly among families assigned to the prevention program that systematically involved parents than to the one that did not. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.