Developmental Models Explaining Drug Use in African American Youth

Introduction to Developmental Frameworks

Understanding behavioral development—particularly drug use among young African American males—requires drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks. The four models examined here, the Developmental Pathways Model, the Social Development Model, the Social Ecological Model, and Contextualism, each offer a progressively wider lens through which behavior can be analyzed, from immediate family dynamics to global cultural influences.

Developmental Pathways Model

The Developmental Pathways Model was advanced in 1978 by W. W. Hartup, whose paper focused on the family and the peer group as "the two worlds of childhood" (Domitrovich, 2001). According to this model, a child's experience within the family directly influences his or her experience within the peer group, and this relationship is cyclical: peer group experiences in turn influence feelings and dynamics within the family, and vice versa. Hartup's work was significant because it added the dimension of peer influence to the study of children's social-emotional development, at a time when research had focused primarily on family interaction.

While the family environment is still regarded as the primary influence on behavior—whether positive or negative—peer relations are shown to play an important role in areas such as social support, skills development, and buffering a child against loneliness and social anxiety. Where healthy peer relations are lacking, aggression, school failure, psychological stress, and problems such as drug use may result (Domitrovich, 2001).

There are, however, mitigating factors such as genetics, which research has shown to significantly influence negative behavior beyond purely external influences. The nature/nurture debate has long engaged this question, and several researchers have concluded that genetics may override other influences in shaping behavior.

Social Development Model

L. S. Vygotsky is the primary theorist behind the Social Development Model (Blunden, 2001). He identifies two levels at which the cultural development of a child takes place: first at the social level, which later begins to manifest at the individual level. An individual's choices are therefore primarily shaped by his or her social perceptions and experiences, meaning that all functions an individual develops depend on the type of social interaction that occurs during that individual's development.

Vygotsky further introduces the concept of the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD), which is fully or inadequately developed depending on the level of social interaction that takes place. For Vygotsky, social development is the primary determinant of human behavior across the path to maturity. When applied to African American males, this theory suggests that these individuals are largely shaped by their social interactions. When drug use is condoned and promoted within a social environment, it becomes highly likely that individuals within that social group will engage in drug use.

Conclusion

Taken together, these four models illustrate that drug use among young African American males cannot be attributed to any single cause. Family dynamics, peer relationships, social interaction, ecological systems, genetics, and the broader historical and global context all intersect to shape individual behavior. A comprehensive understanding of this issue requires drawing on each of these frameworks in combination.