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Much scholarship on militarism examines the phenomenon itself rather than determinants of militaristic ideology. We designed and administered a survey to college students and created a Militaristic Ideology Index based on student perceptions of the "need" for increasing military spending, foreign interventions, economic sanctions and anticommunist interventionism. We then created an Imperialism Awareness Index that provides a measure of respondent knowledge of military spending levels, US interference in other countries' political systems and international response to US interventions. Using regression analysis, we examined the relationships between imperialism awareness and militarist ideology. We also investigated the relationship between the perception that mainstream media inform about the genuine motives behind US interventions and respondents' militarist ideology. We found that greater awareness of imperialism is inversely associated with militarism. Similarly, we found that greater trust in mainstream media outlets reporting on US foreign policy is positively associated with militarist ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of alcohol use among adolescents is alarming, given the potential negative social and health consequences of this behavior. In Turkey, a secular Islamic country where little research has been conducted on adolescents’ alcohol and drug use, such research is urgently needed. Objectives: The present study drew on Hirschi’s social bonding theory and Agnew’s general strain theory to examine the role that family plays in Turkish adolescents’ alcohol use. The family is a source of both resources and strain. It is a key institution at all life stages and especially during adolescence. Our study asked whether and how family-related strain and bonding variables explained the current alcohol use of one group of Turkish 10th-grade students. Methods: The study data came from the Youth in Europe research project; the cross-sectional data were collected in 2008 in Bagcilar, Turkey. Our final sample numbered 2,090 participants. Results: This study generally showed participants’ alcohol use to be explained to a degree by family-related strain and bonding variables. Conclusions: Our results confirmed that in Turkey, the family does shape adolescents’ alcohol use. The findings will clearly be useful during design and enhancement of prevention programs meant to deter Turkish adolescents from alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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