Abstract

This study is aimed at investigating the relationship among three different substances (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana), resources and vulnerability, considering stability and change during time, and the moderation of the social-cultural context (country), and controlling for the effect of gender, age and type of school. The sample consisted of 428 Italian and Dutch adolescents of both gender, aged from 14 to 19 yrs. The results (logistic regression analyses) show that beginning and stability of use have different relationships with resources and vulnerability: the former is related to both, while the latter is more related to vulnerability. The country has only a direct effect on the stability of cigarette smoking: the Italians are more involved. The results suggest that the interventions for increasing the resources are more efficient before the beginning or in the initial phase.