Parental Bonding and Its Effect on Adolescent Substance Use and Sexual Debut

Associations between Parent-Child Communication on Sexual Health and Drug Use and Use of Drugs during Sex among Urban Black Youth

Black youth and their families living in urban settings may experience unique stressors that contribute to underlying issues due to the environmental context. Such factors may exacerbate and promote drug use and engagement in risky sexual behaviors, unknowingly. Little is known about how family factors, peer pressure, condom use, and other related factors are associated with substance use and engaging in sexual behaviors while on drugs among urban African American youth aged 12-22 (N = 638). We used regression models to examine associations between parental bonding, parent-adolescent sexual health communication, condom use, peer pressure on substance use, and having sex while on drugs. Multivariate results indicated that parental bonding was statistically significant and associated with drug use (OR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.36). Our study highlights that parental bonding plays a critical role in youth using drugs while living in urban environments.

Maternal and Paternal Warmth Impact Recovery Support and Social Network Composition for Substance Dependent African American and Non-African American Women

Poor early relationship experiences during the first 16 years of life may negatively impact adults' capacity to establish and utilize social support (Suchman, McMahon, Slade, & Luthar, 2005). This is especially of concern for women with substance use disorders (SUD) for whom social support is associated with recovery maintenance and treatment retention (Gregoire & Snively, 2001). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of early relationship experiences, specifically paternal and maternal warmth, on recovery related social support and personal network characteristics among African American (AA) and non-AA women in treatment for SUD. Data were collected from 254 women in substance abuse treatment, 146 AA and 108 non-AA. Ordinal logistic, Poisson or multiple linear regressions were fitted to predict the impact of maternal and paternal warmth during childhood on adult social network composition and recovery support. Greater maternal warmth was associated with greater recovery-specific social support for both AA (β = 0.12) and non-AA (β = 0.15) women. Paternal, but not maternal, warmth significantly predicted the number of social network members who supported recovery for non-AA women (AOR = 1.04), and number of network members who used drugs and alcohol for AA women (IRR = 0.99). Developmental experiences associated with fathers appear to affect different domains of adult functioning than those associated with mothers, and those effects are different for AA versus non-AA women. Attention to these differences may inform culturally relevant substance abuse prevention and treatment efforts.