Protective families in high- and low-risk environments: implications for adolescent substance use

Racial-Ethnic Discrimination and Early Adolescents' Behavioral Problems: The Protective Role of Parental Warmth

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between discrimination by multiple sources (ie, teachers, students, and other adults) and early adolescents' behavioral problems (ie, internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems), also considering the protective role of parental warmth in the association.

METHOD

Cross-sectional analyses were conducted with 3,245 early adolescents of color obtained from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study) at year 1 follow-up (Y1), a large and diverse sample of children (mean age = 9.48 years) in the United States. Racially-ethnically minoritized adolescents reported sources of discrimination, parental warmth, and symptoms of psychopathology. Regression with interaction terms was conducted to investigate the associations among sources of discrimination, parental warmth, and behavioral problems among racially-ethnically minority adolescents. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine (1) race/ethnicity and sex/gender variations; (2) whether the associations between different sources of discrimination and behavioral problems were reliably different; and (3) effects of discrimination, parental warmth, and their interplay at Y1 in predicting adolescents' behavioral problems at year 2 follow-up.

RESULTS

Early adolescents experiencing interpersonal racial-ethnic discrimination by multiple sources, including teachers, students, and other adults, reported higher levels of attention, internalizing, and externalizing problems. Parental warmth was protective for the association between interpersonal racial-ethnic discrimination and early adolescents' behavioral problems.

CONCLUSION

Experiencing interpersonal racial-ethnic discrimination from teachers, peers, and other adults is related to heightened attention, internalizing, and externalizing problems among racially-ethnically minoritized early adolescents. Parental warmth may reduce the risk of developing behavioral problems among early adolescents who experience interpersonal racial-ethnic discrimination from students, teachers, and other adults outside of school.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT

We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list.

Investigating key latent factors influencing alcohol consumption among the tribal male adolescents in Dooars region, West Bengal

BACKGROUND

Alcohol consumption among tribal male adolescents in India is a significant social concern. Tribal adolescents are particularly vulnerable and tend to lean toward alcohol addiction. Therefore, it is crucial to introduce some necessary footsteps to reduce alcohol consumption. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the association of various latent factors with the alcohol-drinking behavior of tribal adolescents.

METHODS

The study collected data from 600 tribal adolescents from the Dooars region, with 241 of them reported consuming alcohol. The study aimed to confirm the theoretical development of hypotheses regarding peer pressure, parental discord, stress, attitude toward alcohol, and food insecurity as exogenous latent factors influencing the alcohol-drinking behavior of tribal adolescents. In this context, the study adopted both measurement and structural models using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

RESULTS

The findings revealed a significant path relationship between alcohol drinking behavior and various exogenous factors like peer pressure (β = 0.214, p = .000), parental discord (β = 0.121, p = .009), stress (β = 0.170, p = .000), attitude toward alcohol (β = 0.110, p = .004), and food insecurity (β = 0.510, p = .000). This study developed a reflective measurement model, and the evaluation of reflective measurement models was conducted, assessing internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, yielding satisfactory results.

CONCLUSION

To tackle alcohol issues among tribal adolescents in the Dooars region, effective strategies should be employed. These include educating in schools, highlighting tribal role models, aiding peers with alcohol dependence, providing life skills training, and addressing parental discord and food insecurity through awareness campaigns, workshops, and better infrastructure.

Examining Parental Monitoring, Neighborhood Peer Anti-social Behavior, and Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Control as a Pathway to Adolescent Substance Use

Adolescence is a critical developmental period in which substance use can have long-term adverse effects. Structural ecosystem theory (SET) argues that community contexts may support or undermine the family's ability to protect youth from substance use. Specific parenting attributes (e.g., providing structure, monitoring) have consistently been linked to youth substance use. However, less is known about how community factors may be influencing substance use through family and peer dynamics during adolescence. To address this gap, the current study uses five waves (ages 10-17) of data, collected as part of the Pitt Mother and Child Project (N = 228 low-income boys and their parents). This data are used to test a path model that investigates the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage (at age 10) and adolescent boys substance use (at age 17) through parental perceptions of neighborhood process (age 11), parents' perceptions of monitoring (age 12) and affiliation with anti-social neighborhood peers/best friends (age 15). This study finds support for the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage in late childhood and substance use at age 17 through parental perceptions of neighborhood cohesion, parental monitoring at age 12, and the youths' association with neighborhood best friends and marijuana use, but limited support for the indirect effect. The findings of this study partially support the assertion that neighborhood factors influence adolescent boys marijuana use by affecting other relationships within their ecological systems, suggesting that more research is needed in this area.

How Influential are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Youths?: Analyzing the Immediate and Lagged Effect of ACEs on Deviant Behaviors

Although the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on antisocial behaviors is well established in the literature, limited research, if any, has analyzed the effect that ACEs have on behaviors at two different times. Limited research also has analyzed the effect that specific ACEs have on deviant behaviors after statistically controlling for respondents' protective factors. This study expands the literature in this area by analyzing in a sample of 555 adolescents the immediate and lagged effect that individual ACEs, and exposure to a number of ACEs, have on three deviant behaviors after controlling for respondents' protective factors not previously examined in ACEs studies. Results obtained from multivariate logistic regression models revealed that stealing things was predicted by being hit hard, being sexually molested, and having lived with a depressed or suicidal individual; and receiving threats over the internet predicted physical fights. Only being hit hard and living with an alcoholic had a lagged effect on smoking marijuana. Results also showed that the protective factors of school connection, anger management skills, and parental supervision reduced the effect of ACEs on the behaviors analyzed. Research, theory, and policy implications are discussed.

Gambling and Attachment: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia in Adolescents and Young Adults

Attachment and alexithymia play a central role in the appearance and persistence of pathological gambling and related comorbid addictive behaviours among adolescents and young adults. The aim of the present study was to explore the differences between problem gamblers and non-problem gamblers in gambling severity, spending, video gaming, alcohol and drugs use, attachment, and alexithymia, as well as the interaction among these variables. The study sample included 560 participants non-problem gamblers (mean age = 15.49 years) and 54 problem gamblers (mean age = 16.43 years). Gambling disorder (SOGS-RA), drugs, alcohol, video games and spending (MULTICAGE CAD-4), attachment (IPPA), and alexithymia (TAS-20) were measured. Student's t, Pearson's r, and multiple mediation analyses were conducted. Problem gamblers scored significantly higher in all substance and non-substance addictive behaviours and alexithymia; as well as significantly lower scores in mother and father attachment scales. Moreover, gambling was negatively associated to father and mother attachment, and positively associated to alexithymia. Finally, alexithymia was found to mediate between parental attachment and gambling, spending, videogame, drug and alcohol abuse, especially in the case of mother attachment. This study demonstrated that adolescent and young adult problem gamblers show higher comorbid addictions than non-problem gamblers, in the same way as higher levels of alexithymia and poorer father attachment. Given that higher comorbidity in early ages is associated with worse prognosis and higher psychopathology in adult life, early detection and treatment purposes becomes essential.

Timing of vape use among adolescents: Differences by family structure

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of adolescent e-cigarette (vape) use has increased significantly over the past several years. Given the risks associated with vape use, it is important to identify predictors of adolescent vape use onset.

PURPOSE

The primary aim was to examine the time to vape use among adolescents, as a function of parental marital status and living arrangements.

METHODS

A sample of 863 adolescents (M_age = 12.73, SD = 0.70; 52% girls; 61% non-Hispanic White) from public middle schools in the Northeast United States were asked about whether they vaped over the course of three years (fall 2016-spring 2019). Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression models were conducted to examine associations between parental divorce and the timing of vape use, gender differences in the association, and potential differences in the association as a function of living arrangements.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that adolescents with divorced parents at Time 1 vaped earlier, and were 51% more likely to vape than adolescents with married parents. There were no gender differences, or differences in timing among those with divorced parents as a function of living with a step-parent.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight the importance of identifying familial risk factors associated with early vape use in adolescents.

School and town factors associated with risky alcohol consumption among Catalan adolescents

Risky alcohol consumption among adolescents has health and social consequences. Evidence identifying the school context that determines alcohol consumption among rural and urban adolescents is lacking. This study aimed to describe the contextual school and town factors determining risky alcohol consumption among rural and urban 10th-grade adolescents (15-17 years old) from Catalonia (northeastern Spain). The study had a cross-sectional design. Cluster sampling with the class as the sampling unit was used, and a total of 1268 10th-grade adolescents from Catalonia nested in 26 high schools participated in the study. A computerized and self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect individual variables. Contextual variables were collected from the Catalan police registers, geocoded sources, and governmental internet databases, and by aggregation of answers from the self-administrated questionnaire. The prevalence of risky alcohol consumption was calculated, and a multilevel Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was conducted with data from adolescents nested within high schools. The results show that risky alcohol consumption is higher among rural adolescents (59.3%) than among urban youth (51.1%) (p < 0.005). Positive expectancies, drunkenness of siblings and friends, and most of the variables indicating accessibility are associated with risky alcohol consumption at the individual level. At the contextual level, the sports center rate and the high school's percentage of risky student alcohol consumption are strongly associated with individual risky alcohol consumption. The town environment (rural or urban), the unemployment rate, and the number of pubs and nightclubs lost their significance after adjustment by the individual and mediating variables. In conclusion, individual factors, such as the influence of drinking patterns of siblings and friends, and more alcohol access opportunities, are associated with adolescents' risky alcohol consumption. The associated contextual factors are the sports center rate and the percentage of risky classmate alcohol consumers. Interventions targeting adolescents should focus at community and high school levels, trying to reduce adolescents' accessibility to alcohol.

Racial discrimination experiences and African American youth adjustment: The role of parenting profiles based on racial socialization and involved-vigilant parenting

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to test whether parenting profiles based on racial socialization and involved-vigilant parenting would compensate for or moderate associations between racial discrimination experiences and academic outcomes and psychological well-being among African American adolescents.

METHOD

Participants were 1,363 African American adolescents (M_age = 14.19; 52.3% female) from 3 Midwestern suburban school districts. Latent profile analysis was used to examine whether there were distinct combinations of parenting. The relationships among racial discrimination experiences, parenting profiles, and adjustment were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM).

RESULTS

Three distinct parenting profiles were found: moderate positive (n = 767; moderately high involved-vigilant parenting and racial barrier, racial pride, behavioral, and egalitarian messages, and low negative messages), unengaged (n = 351; low racial socialization messages and moderately low involved-vigilant parenting), and high negative parenting (n = 242; high negative messages, moderate other racial socialization messages, and moderately low involved-vigilant parenting). Racial discrimination experiences were negatively associated with youth adjustment. Moderate positive parenting was related to the best academic outcomes and unengaged parenting was associated with more positive academic outcomes than high negative parenting. Moderate positive parenting was associated with better psychological well-being than unengaged or high negative parenting although the benefits were greater for adolescents with fewer racial discrimination experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct patterns of racial socialization messages and involved-vigilant parenting contribute to differences in African American youth adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attachment and emotion regulation in substance addictions and behavioral addictions

Background Risky behaviors have been related to emotional regulation and attachment, which may constitute risk factors for developing an addictive behavior. However, there may also be differences between substance and non-substance-related addictions. Aims This study aimed to examine the relationship of emotional regulation and attachment, with substance (alcohol and drug abuse), and non-substance-related addictions (gambling disorder, video game addiction, and problematic Internet use) in adolescents and emerging adults. The study also aimed to examine gender differences for such predictors. Methods The sample comprised 472 students aged 13-21 years recruited from high schools and vocational education centers. Results Findings demonstrated that emotion regulation was predictive of all addictive behaviors assessed in this study (alcohol and drug abuse, gambling disorder, video game addiction, and problematic Internet use), whereas attachment predicted non-substance-related addictions (gambling disorder, video game addiction, and problematic Internet use). In addition, gender differences were found, with females scoring significantly higher in maternal and peer attachment, whereas males scored significantly higher in gambling disorder and video game addiction. Conclusion The findings may be useful for preventive and clinical interventions conducted with youth regarding addictive behaviors.

Personal Values as a Mediator of Relations Between Perceived Parental Support and Control and Youth Substance Use

BACKGROUND

Tobacco and marijuana smoking are very popular in adolescence and there is a high rate of comorbidity between them, even in young adulthood. Parental support and control may hinder involvement in the use of these substances by promoting conventional values among adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

The present study investigates the relations between family functioning (parental support and control) and psychoactive substance use (tobacco and marijuana smoking) and determines whether these relationships are mediated by personal values (in terms of disapproval of deviance and beliefs about the importance of school, health and religion).

METHODS

175 Italian late adolescents (17 to 20 years old) participated in this two-wave longitudinal study. Data were collected at school through an anonymous questionnaire.

RESULTS

Greater parental control and support were directly associated with lower adolescent tobacco and marijuana use; adolescent acceptance of conventional values mediated the association between parenting and adolescent marijuana use.

CONCLUSION

Findings emphasize the influence of family relationships throughout adolescence. The transmission of conventional values to adolescents may be a critical mechanism through which parenting protects adolescents from substance use, especially marijuana use.

Identity and well-being of ethnic minority and mainstream adolescents in Bulgaria

<B>Background</b><br /> We study identity in the context of long-term sedentary groups in Eastern Europe in contrast to the frequently studied short-term immigrants in typical Western European or US American contexts. This paper provides a novel approach to youth identity in an Eastern European post-communist context for minority groups that are quite distinct from the mainstream group to advance the study of identity. Turkish-Bulgarians and Muslim-Bulgarians have been subjected to extensive assimilation campaigns, which prompted them to carefully negotiate their ethnic identity and sense of belonging.<br /> <br /> <B>Participants and procedure</b><br /> Participants were 366 adolescents aged 16 to 18 years (M = 16.72, SD = 0.71) from South Central and South Western regions of Bulgaria. This sample included Turkish-Bulgarian (n = 145), Muslim-Bulgarian (n = 85), and (mainstream) Bulgarian (n = 136) youth who provided data on personal, ethnic, familial, and religious identity as well as psychological well-being.<br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> Turkish-Bulgarian youth scored higher on achievement, diffusion, and foreclosure but lower on moratorium and Bulgarian ethnic and familial identity than Muslim-Bulgarian and Bulgarian youth. Bulgarian mainstreamers scored significantly lower on religious identity compared to their Turkish-Bulgarian and Muslim-Bulgarian peers. Finally, Bulgarian mainstream identity significantly predicted well-being of youth from all groups, independent of their ethnic background.<br /> <br /> <B>Conclusions</b><br /> A strong ethnic and familial identity results in beneficial psychological outcomes for youth, even in the face of adversity and assimilation.

Factors associated with illicit drugs' lifetime and frequent/heavy use among students results from a population survey

Substance use among teenage students and factors associated were investigated through a survey using a questionnaire adapted from the WHO's Program on Research and Reporting on the Epidemiology of Drug Dependence, additional questions on family factors and personal risks, and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, adapted to Brazil. The target population consisted of 3891 10-22-year-old students from the city of Embu das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil. The prevalence of lifetime substance use was 26.7%. Most commonly used substances were energy drinks combined with alcohol (19%), solvents (11.2%) and marijuana (4.8%). Almost 60% of the students had already tried alcohol and 18.2% had tried tobacco. Factors associated to lifetime substance use were: lower self-esteem, going to nightclubs at least twice a week, use of alcohol, trying tobacco, bad relationship with the mother, permissive mothers, practicing sports as an obligation, working, and higher socioeconomic level. Concerning frequent/heavy substance use, chances were found to be higher among students who had use tobacco and alcohol, going to nightclubs at least twice a week, and those with lower self-esteem. Preventive actions concerning drug use should focus on avoiding the first experimentation, approaching family relationships, and improving students' self-esteem.

Universal Prevention Exposure as a Moderator of the Community Context: Findings from the PROSPER Project

This study examined how participation in a universal family skills-building program may interact with community risks and resources to produce youth outcomes. Prior research has noted community-level variability in risk and protective factors, but thus far no study has examined the role that participation on a community-wide intervention may play in moderating the effects of community risks or resources. The study included 14 communities (seven in Iowa, seven in Pennsylvania) that implemented a family focused evidence-based program as part of the PROSPER project. Community level variables included both risk factors (percent of low income families, the availability of alcohol and tobacco, norms regarding adolescent substance use, incidence of drug-related crimes) and community resources (proactive school leadership, availability of youth-serving organizations, and student involvement in youth activities). The proximal youth and family outcomes included youth perceptions of their parents' management skills, parent-child activities, and family cohesion. Results indicated that the Strengthening Families Program:10-14 may have moderated the impact of the community risks and resources on community-level youth outcomes; risk levels meaningfully associated with community-level change in program participants, though these results varied somewhat by outcome. Generally, higher levels of resources also meaningfully associated with more positive change after participating in the family-focused intervention. These results suggest that the effect of some evidence-based programs may be even stronger in some communities than others; more research in this area is needed.

Intensive alcohol consumption by adolescents in Southern Spain: The importance of friendship

BACKGROUND

There has been an increase in intensive alcohol drinking by Spanish adolescents since the 1990s, especially among the females, but there has been limited exploration of this phenomenon. The objective of this study was to analyse the discourses of Spanish adolescents on their drinking behaviour at contextual, relational, and personal levels.

METHODS

A qualitative study was undertaken in 96 adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years who had experienced at least one intensive drinking episode during the previous year. They lived with family members and were not offenders or at risk of social exclusion. Participants were recruited at educational centres and youth centres in two provinces in southern Spain. Ten focus groups and 30 in-depth individual interviews were conducted. A summative content analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Intensive alcohol drinking was widely practiced in this study population. Consolidation of this practice was influenced by cultural, interpersonal and personal dimensions. Consumption in public spaces emerged as a key influential factor, especially the botellón, a collective space-time in which Spanish adolescents socialize and become initiated into intensive alcohol consumption. Besides the facilitating elements of the social and cultural setting, the results also evidence the effects of interpersonal relationships within the peer group, which offer a series of approaches to risk and protective practices. In these adolescents, the main reason for engaging in alcohol drinking was to enhance their social relationships, which acted as a mechanism to normalize intensive alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

Policies to reduce the harm caused to adolescents by intensive alcohol drinking need to take account of the contextual, relational and personal dimensions of this practice. The discourses of these adolescents from Southern Spain point to a potential role for the peer group in harm reduction strategies.

Longitudinal family effects on substance use among an at-risk adolescent sample

OBJECTIVE

Adult and peer factors may influence whether adolescents use alcohol and other drugs (AOD). This longitudinal study examined the direct effects of adult monitoring, perceived adult AOD use, and cultural values on adolescent AOD use.

METHODS

Participants were 193 at-risk adolescents referred to a California diversion program called Teen Court for a first-time AOD offense. We assessed youth reports of past 30day AOD use (any alcohol use, heavy drinking, marijuana use), demographics, changes in parental monitoring and family values (from baseline to follow-up 180days later), as well as family structure and perceived adult substance use at follow-up.

RESULTS

Adolescents who reported that a significant adult in their life used marijuana were more likely to have increased days of drinking, heavy drinking, and marijuana use at follow-up. Higher levels of familism (importance the teen places on their family's needs over their own needs) and being in a nuclear family served as protective factors for future alcohol use. Additionally, poor family management was associated with increased alcohol use and heavy drinking.

CONCLUSION

Findings highlight how family management and perceptions of adult marijuana use influence subsequent adolescent AOD use, and how an increase in familism over time is associated with a decrease in adolescent drinking. Tailoring interventions, by including the teen's family and/or providing support to adults who use AOD may be crucial for improving interventions for adolescent AOD use.

Replication RCT of early universal prevention effects on young adult substance misuse

OBJECTIVE

For many substances, more frequent and problematic use occurs in young adulthood; these types of use are predicted by the timing of initiation during adolescence. We replicated and extended an earlier study examining whether delayed substance initiation during adolescence, resulting from universal preventive interventions implemented in middle school, reduces problematic use in young adulthood.

METHOD

Participants were middle school students from 36 Iowa schools randomly assigned to the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (Molgaard, Spoth, & Redmond, 2000) plus Life Skills Training (LST; Botvin, 1995, 2000), LST-only, or a control condition. Self-report questionnaires were collected at 11 time points, including 4 during young adulthood. The intercept (average level) and rate of change (slope) in young adult frequency measures (drunkenness, alcohol-related problems, cigarettes, and illicit drugs) across ages 19-22 were modeled as outcomes influenced by growth factors describing substance initiation during adolescence. Analyses entailed testing a 2-step hierarchical latent growth curve model; models included the effects of baseline risk, intervention condition assignment, and their interaction.

RESULTS

Analyses showed significant indirect intervention effects on the average levels of all young adult outcomes, through effects on adolescent substance initiation growth factors, along with Intervention × Risk interaction effects favoring the higher risk subsample. Additional direct effects on young adult use were observed in some cases. Relative reduction rates were larger for the higher risk subsample at age 22, ranging from 5.8% to 36.4% on outcomes showing significant intervention effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Universal preventive interventions implemented during early adolescence have the potential to decrease the rates of substance use and associated problems into young adulthood.

The association between problematic parental substance use and adolescent substance use in an ethnically diverse sample of 9th and 10th graders

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.

A qualitative exploration of attitudes towards alcohol, and the role of parents and peers of two alcohol-attitude-based segments of the adolescent population

Background

An earlier study using social marketing and audience segmentation distinguished five segments of Dutch adolescents aged 12–18 years based on their attitudes towards alcohol. The present, qualitative study focuses on two of these five segments (‘ordinaries’ and ‘ordinary sobers’) and explores the attitudes of these two segments towards alcohol, and the role of parents and peers in their alcohol use in more detail.

Methods

This qualitative study was conducted in the province of North-Brabant, the Netherlands. With a 28-item questionnaire, segments of adolescents were identified. From the ordinaries and ordinary sobers who were willing to participate in a focus group, 55 adolescents (30 ordinaries and 25 ordinary sobers) were selected and invited to participate. Finally, six focus groups were conducted with 12–17 year olds, i.e., three interviews with 17 ordinaries and three interviews with 20 ordinary sobers at three different high schools.

Results

The ordinaries thought that drinking alcohol was fun and relaxing. Curiosity was an important factor in starting to drink alcohol. Peer pressure played a role, e.g., it was difficult not to drink when peers were drinking. Most parents advised their child to drink a small amount only. The attitude of ordinary sobers towards alcohol was that drinking alcohol was stupid; moreover, they did not feel the need to drink. Most parents set strict rules and prohibited the use of alcohol before the age of 16.

Conclusions

Qualitative insight into the attitudes towards alcohol and the role played by parents and peers, revealed differences between ordinaries and ordinary sobers. Based on these differences and on health education theories, starting points for the development of interventions, for both parents and adolescents, are formulated. Important starting points for interventions targeting ordinaries are reducing perceived peer pressure and learning to make one’s own choices. For the ordinary sobers, an important starting point includes enabling them to express to others that they do not feel the need to drink alcohol. Starting points for parents include setting strict rules, restricting alcohol availability at home and monitoring their child’s alcohol use.

Population heterogeneity in the salience of multiple risk factors for adolescent delinquency

PURPOSE

To present mixture regression analysis as an alternative to more standard regression analysis for predicting adolescent delinquency. We demonstrate how mixture regression analysis allows for the identification of population subgroups defined by the salience of multiple risk factors.

METHODS

We identified population subgroups (i.e., latent classes) of individuals based on their coefficients in a regression model predicting adolescent delinquency from eight previously established risk indices drawn from the community, school, family, peer, and individual levels. The study included N = 37,763 10th-grade adolescents who participated in the Communities That Care Youth Survey. Standard, zero-inflated, and mixture Poisson and negative binomial regression models were considered.

RESULTS

Standard and mixture negative binomial regression models were selected as optimal. The five-class regression model was interpreted based on the class-specific regression coefficients, indicating that risk factors had varying salience across classes of adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Standard regression showed that all risk factors were significantly associated with delinquency. Mixture regression provided more nuanced information, suggesting a unique set of risk factors that were salient for different subgroups of adolescents. Implications for the design of subgroup-specific interventions are discussed.

The Effect of Family Factors on Intense Alcohol Use among European Adolescents: A Multilevel Analysis

In Europe use of alcohol by adolescents is a large and increasing problem. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of family factors such as structure, social control, affluence, and negative life events on adolescents' risky alcohol use. Data on alcohol use and family factors were obtained from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2). Using multilevel analysis, it was found that overall, complete family and high social control by parents were lowering the intense alcohol use whereas negative life events in the family and high family affluence were increasing youngsters' intense alcohol use. Differences between regions of Europe were present for all family factors except affluence. Namely, in Northern Europe the impact of family structure and social control on intense alcohol use was stronger than that in other regions (e.g., Western Europe, Mediterranean, and Postsocialist countries). Also, in Northern Europe where the proportion of adolescents who have not experienced negative life events is the highest, the impact of negative life events on intense alcohol use was stronger; that is, negative life events increased the alcohol use. We conclude that family plays a significant role in adolescents' risky alcohol use.

The differential influence of contextual risks on psychosocial functioning and participation of Australian aboriginal youth

This study investigated the differential influence of contextual risks for positive psychosocial functioning and participation in education or employment in a representative sample of 12- to 17-year-old Aboriginal youth (N = 674) using data drawn from the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS) 2000-2002. The authors modeled the influence of 3 empirical risk measures (risk factor, cumulative risk, and single risks) on positive psychosocial functioning and participation in education or employment. Results showed different risks for different developmental outcomes. Single sociodemographic risks were associated with reduced likelihood of positive psychosocial functioning, whereas cumulative risk and composite Family Health and Community Risk measures were associated with reduced likelihood of participation in education or employment. Methodological issues and implications for interventions to support young Aboriginal people's adaptation are discussed.

Differential Effects of Parental Controls on Adolescent Substance Use: For Whom Is the Family Most Important?

OBJECTIVE

Social control theory assumes that the ability of social constraints to deter juvenile delinquency will be invariant across individuals. This paper tests this hypothesis and examines the degree to which there are differential effects of parental controls on adolescent substance use.

METHODS

Analyses are based on self-reported data from 7,349 10th-grade students and rely on regression mixture models to identify latent classes of individuals who may vary in the effects of parental controls on drug use.

RESULTS

All parental controls were significantly related to adolescent drug use, with higher levels of control associated with less drug use. The effects of instrumental parental controls (e.g., parental management strategies) on drug use were shown to vary across individuals, while expressive controls (e.g., parent/child attachment) had uniform effects in reducing drug use. Specifically, poor family management and more favorable parental attitudes regarding children's drug use and delinquency had stronger effects on drug use for students who reported greater attachment to their neighborhoods, less acceptance of adolescent drug use by neighborhood residents, and fewer delinquent peers, compared to those with greater community and peer risk exposure. Parental influences were also stronger for Caucasian students versus those from other racial/ethnic groups, but no differences in effects were found based on students' gender or commitment to school.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings demonstrate support for social control theory, and also help to refine and add precision to this perspective by identifying groups of individuals for whom parental controls are most influential. Further, they offer an innovative methodology that can be applied to any criminological theory to examine the complex forces that result in illegal behavior.

A multidomain approach to understanding risk for underage drinking: converging evidence from 5 data sets

OBJECTIVES

We examined the independent and combined influence of major risk and protective factors on youths' alcohol use.

METHODS

Five large data sets provided similar measures of alcohol use and risk or protective factors. We carried out analyses within each data set, separately for boys and girls in 8th and 10th grades. We included interaction and curvilinear predictive terms in final models if results were robust across data sets. We combined results using meta-analytic techniques.

RESULTS

Individual, family, and peer risk factors and a community protective factor moderately predicted youths' alcohol use. Family and school protective factors did not predict alcohol use when combined with other factors. Youths' antisocial attitudes were more strongly associated with alcohol use for those also reporting higher levels of peer or community risk. For certain risk factors, the association with alcohol use varied across different risk levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Efforts toward reducing youths' alcohol use should be based on robust estimates of the relative influence of risk and protective factors across adolescent environment domains. Public health advocates should focus on context (e.g., community factors) as a strategy for curbing underage alcohol use.

The community epidemiology of underage drinking: variation across communities in relations of risk to alcohol use

To test the assumption embedded in state-of-the-art, community assessment and decision-making regarding prevention of underage drinking: that there is minimal variation in the way that risk and protective factors (RPF) are associated with underage drinking across communities. Three large datasets provided the same measures of adolescent alcohol use and RPFs. Multilevel ordered-logistic regression models were carried out separately for each dataset and separately for males and females in 8th and 10th grades, testing random slopes for each RPF index. Predicted school-level coefficients were derived from these models, representing the association between RPFs and alcohol use. The variation in associations between RPFs and alcohol use across schools was greatest for antisocial peer risk and community protection; the lowest variation across schools was found for family cohesion and individual antisocial behavior. Ranges in predicted coefficients indicate large differences across schools for many RPFs. Bivariate correlations indicated that school-level associations vary across RPFs in expected directions. Policy makers should recognize that the magnitude of associations between RPFs and adolescent alcohol use vary considerably across communities, and that such variability is greater for certain RPFs than others. These findings have implications for policies regarding how prevention resources are targeted within and across communities.

Do peers' parents matter? A new link between positive parenting and adolescent substance use

OBJECTIVE

Although studies have demonstrated that an adolescent's parents and friends both influence adolescent substance use, it is not known whether the parenting experienced by one's friends also affects one's own use. Drawing on conceptions of shared parenting and the tenets of coercion theory, we investigated the extent to which three domains of parenting behaviors (parental knowledge, inductive reasoning, and consistent discipline) influenced the alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use of not only their own adolescent children but also of members of their adolescents' friendship groups.

METHOD

Analyses of friendship nominations within each of two successive ninth-grade cohorts in 27 Iowa and Pennsylvania schools (N = 7,439 students, 53.6% female) were used to identify 897 friendship groups. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to examine prospective associations between 9th-grade friendship group-level parenting behaviors and adolescent self-reported alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in 10th grade.

RESULTS

Adolescent substance use in 10th grade was significantly related to parenting behaviors of friends' parents, after controlling for adolescents' reports of their own substance use and their own parents' behaviors at the 9th grade level. These associations were particularly strong for parents' knowledge about their children and use of inconsistent discipline strategies. Significant interaction effects indicated that these relationships were strongest when adolescents received positive parenting at home. Some, but not all, of the main effects of friends' parents' parenting became nonsignificant after friends' substance use in ninth grade was included in the model.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the parenting style in adolescents' friends' homes plays an important role in determining adolescent substance use. Implications of the joint contribution of parents and peers for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Predicting alcohol use across adolescence: relative strength of individual, family, peer, and contextual risk and protective factors

The current study examined developmental changes in the relative influence of risk and protective factors (RPFs) across individual, family, peer, school, and community domains on adolescent alcohol use. Using longitudinal data from two independent samples, multivariate cross-lagged models were used to estimate the unique influence of each RPF on subsequent changes in recent alcohol use between early to late adolescence. The results supported the hypothesis that the influence of Individual Risk would increase during this developmental period. However, less consistent evidence was found concerning developmental changes among the other domains. Whereas the influence arising from Family Protection diminished during adolescence, the influence of Family Risk, School Protection, and Community Protection did not vary. The influence of Peer Risk showed a nonlinear pattern across adolescence, peaking during the middle adolescent years. The results of this study support a developmental approach to adolescent alcohol use and emphasize the need for prevention strategies that account for these developmental changes.

Community epidemiology of risk and adolescent substance use: practical questions for enhancing prevention

To promote an effective approach to prevention, the community diagnosis model helps communities systematically assess and prioritize risk factors to guide the selection of preventive interventions. This increasingly widely used model relies primarily on individual-level research that links risk and protective factors to substance use outcomes. I discuss common assumptions in the translation of such research concerning the definition of risk factor elevation; the equivalence, independence, and stability of relations between risk factors and problem behaviors; and community differences in risk factors and risk factor-problem behavior relations. Exploring these assumptions could improve understanding of the relations of risk factors and substance use within and across communities and enhance the efficacy of the community diagnosis model. This approach can also be applied to other areas of public health where individual and community levels of risk and outcomes intersect.