An analysis of the relationship between school bonding and drug use among high school students

This study examined the relationship between social bonding indicators and drug use among grade eight to twelve students, drawing from attachment and involvement dimensions of Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory for the conceptual framework. Data was utilized from the Safe School Social Responsibility Survey for Secondary Students (SSSRS) for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 school years to understand the extent to which school bonding, a measure of attachment to school and involvement at school, was associated to current and future drug use. ‘Attachment to school’ indicators included perceptions of students’ liking for school, feeling respected from adults at school, and feeling their ideas were important to adults at school. ‘Involvement at school’ indicators included self-reported rates of students’ participation in groups or clubs at school, and non-participating behaviours involving skipping class, and skipping an entire day of school. This study provides important evidence, as well as practical indicators, to support the proposition that school bonding is associated to, and predictive of, current and future drug use.