Factors related to attitudes towards drug use and alcohol drinking: Comparing immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Israeli-born adolescents

Research among Russian immigrant adolescents indicates that despite their stressful situation the great majority of them are found to be drug-free. Our study examined three protective factors that may account for less favourable attitudes to drinking and drug use among a sample of high school immigrants. The protective role played by personal (Sense of Coherence) and familial (Sense of Family Coherence, Family Functioning Scale) measures were examined on the hypothesized link between immigration, as a stressful process, and the attitudes towards drug use. The sample was composed of 155 high-school immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and 326 Israeli-born adolescents. The results of the self-report questionnaires indicate that the two groups had relatively low levels of positive attitudes towards drug abuse and alcohol drinking. The immigrants, however, were found to be somewhat more permissive. For the entire sample, and not only among the immigrants group, the likelihood of having less favourable attitudes towards drug abuse was significantly higher for those who scored higher on sense of coherence, family functioning and sense of family coherence. The results are discussed in relation to the immigration experience of adolescents and their cultural transition.