Street youths’ control imbalance and soft and hard drug use

In his control balance theory Charles Tittle maintained that under favorable conditions unbalanced control ratios will lead to different forms of deviance. The type of deviance chosen is argued to depend on the degree of the control imbalance and the desirability the offense presents as a method of altering the imbalance. Utilizing a sample of homeless street youth this study examined if different types of control balance ratios were associated with hard and soft drug use. The findings revealed that control balance surpluses and control balance deficits were both related to hard and soft drug use but that these relationships were significantly stronger for hard drug use. Further, provocation and self-control were significant predictors of hard but not soft drug use while drug using peers predicted soft drug use but not hard drug use. Parental drug use, perceptions of risk, and values supportive of illegal behavior predicted both forms of drug use. Results are discussed and directions for further research and theoretical refinement are offered.