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The Association Between Problematic Parental Substance Use and Adolescent Substance Use in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of 9th and 10th Graders

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Abstract

Adolescents of parents who use substances are at an increased risk for substance use themselves. Both parental monitoring and closeness have been shown to mediate the relationship between parents’ and their adolescents’ substance use. However, we know little about whether these relationships vary across different substances used by adolescents. Using structural equation modeling, we examined these associations within a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 9th and 10th graders (N = 927). Path analyses indicated that maternal closeness partially mediated the association between maternal problematic substance use and adolescent alcohol use. Parental monitoring partially mediated the relationship between paternal problematic substance use and adolescent alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, inhalant, and illicit prescription drug use. These results were consistent across gender and race/ethnicity. These findings suggest that parental interventions designed to increase closeness and monitoring may help to reduce adolescent substance use.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible with Award Number K23HD059916 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded to Dr. Temple. This work was also supported, in part, by Grants F31AA020131 (Ryan Shorey) and K24AA019707 (Dr. Stuart) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. This study was also made possible with funding to Dr. Temple by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (JRG-082) and the John Sealy Memorial Endowment Fund for Biomedical Research. This work could not have been conducted without the permission and assistance of the schools and school districts.

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Shorey, R.C., Fite, P.J., Elkins, S.R. et al. The Association Between Problematic Parental Substance Use and Adolescent Substance Use in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of 9th and 10th Graders. J Primary Prevent 34, 381–393 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-013-0326-z

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