Nurturant-involved parenting and adolescent substance use: Examining an internalizing pathway through adolescent social anxiety symptoms and substance refusal efficacy

Substance Addiction in Adolescents: Influence of Parenting and Personality Traits

BACKGROUND

Substance use in adolescents has been separately related to personality traits and parental socialization styles; in this study, our objective was to study these variables in an integrated way.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in five institutes in a final sample of 331 students, excluding those with gaming disorder. The sample was stratified into three subgroups: 'no addiction', 'low risk', and 'high risk' of Substance Use Disorders (SUD).

RESULTS

12.9% of the adolescents presented a low risk of SUD, while 18.3% showed a high risk, with both being older (F = 9.16; p < 0.001) than the no addiction group. Adolescents with high risk scored lower in control and structure variables and higher in maternal and paternal indifference factors. Non-addicted subjects presented higher scores in conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness and lower scores in neuroticism. The probability of SUD increased with age (OR = 2.187; p = 0.022), sensation seeking (OR = 1.084; p < 0.001), and neuroticism (OR = 1.049; p = 0.042), while conscientiousness was a protective factor (OR = 0.930; p = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

These results reflect that personality traits are directly related to the development of substance abuse in adolescents.

Developmental Cascades from Polygenic and Prenatal Substance Use to Adolescent Substance Use: Leveraging Severity and Directionality of Externalizing and Internalizing Problems to Understand Pubertal and Harsh Discipline-Related Risk

The current study leveraged the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort (n = 4504 White boys, n = 4287 White girls assessed from the prenatal period through 18.5 years of age) to test a developmental cascade from genetic and prenatal substance use through pubertal timing and parenting to the severity of (regardless of type) and directionality (i.e., differentiation) of externalizing and internalizing problems to adolescent substance use. Limited associations of early pubertal timing with substance use outcomes were only observable via symptom directionality, differently for girls and boys. For boys, more severe exposure to prenatal substance use influenced adolescent substance use progression via differentiation towards relatively more pure externalizing problems, but in girls the associations were largely direct. Severity and especially directionality (i.e., differentiation towards relatively more pure externalizing problems) were key intermediaries in developmental cascades from parental harsh discipline with substance use progressions for girls and boys.

The roles of child maltreatment and fathers in the development of substance use in an at-risk sample of youth: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Despite ample cross-sectional evidence linking child maltreatment and father involvement to adolescent substance use, little is known about the longitudinal impact of child maltreatment and father involvement in the developmental course of substance use from early adolescence to late adolescence.

OBJECTIVE

The primary aim of the study was to examine the long-term effects of childhood maltreatment (i.e., maltreatment type, perpetrator identity) and the quality and quantity of father involvement on developmental trajectories of substance use among high-risk youth.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Study participants included 681 U.S. adolescents who had experienced or were at risk for child maltreatment.

METHODS

Latent Growth Poisson Modeling was conducted to examine developmental trajectories of substance use at ages 12, 14, 16, and 18.

RESULTS

Child emotional abuse and greater quantity of father involvement were associated with a higher initial number of substances used, while higher quality of father-child relationships was associated with a lower initial number of substances used. Emotional abuse and greater quantity of father involvement were associated with slower increases in the number of substances used over time.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that engaging fathers and promoting nurturing parenting and positive parent-adolescent interactions may be important for programs and policies aimed to prevent early adolescent substance use initiation. Furthermore, early identification of emotional abuse among adolescents could help to prevent initial polysubstance use onset.

Youth Internalizing Problems and Changes in Parent-Child Relationships Across Early Adolescence: Lability and Developmental Trends

Few longitudinal studies examine how changes in parent-child relationships are associated with changes in youth internalizing problems. In this longitudinal study, we investigated how developmental trends (linear change) and year-to-year lability (within-person fluctuations) in parental warmth and hostility across Grade 6-8 predict youth internalizing problems in Grade 9 (N = 618) and whether these linkages differ for boys and girls. Developmental trends (greater decreases in warmth, increases in hostility) were associated with more youth internalizing problems. Greater year-to-year lability (more fluctuations) in father hostility and warmth were also associated with more internalizing problems. Greater lability in mother warmth was associated with more internalizing problems for girls only. The strongest effects of lability on internalizing problems were found for youth with the highest lability scores. This study underscores the importance of differentiating developmental trends from lability in parent-child relationships, both of which may be important for youth internalizing problems.

Early childhood psychosocial family risks and cumulative dopaminergic sensitizing score: Links to behavior problems in U.S. 9-year-olds

BACKGROUND

We examined, (a) whether in early childhood exposure to risky family environment in different domains (socioeconomic, mental, parenting practices, health behavior, and child-related risks) and accumulatively across various domains (cumulative risk) is associated with child's problem behavior at age 9, and (b) whether the association is more pronounced in children carrying cumulative dopaminergic sensitizing genotype or living in low-income families.

METHODS

Participants were 2,860 9-year old children (48% females; 48% Black) and their mothers from the 'Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study', a probability birth cohort from large U.S. cities. Mothers responded to questions on child's problem behavior (CBCL). Children responded to questions about their vandalism and substance use.

RESULTS

Cumulative family risk was associated with higher internalizing and externalizing behavior and higher vandalism and substance use. All domain-specific risk clusters were associated with higher internalizing behavior and, with the exception of child-related risk, with higher externalizing behavior. Mental health risks, risky parenting practices, and risky health behavior were associated with higher vandalism. Risky parenting practices were associated with higher substance use. The associations were robust to adjustment for cumulative dopaminergic sensitizing genotype. No G x E interactions with dopaminergic genotype and family SES were observed.

LIMITATIONS

Sample size was relatively small for genetic analysis and polygenic risk scores were not available.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to cumulative psychosocial family risks from early childhood is associated with early indicators of problem behavior in adolescence.

The Transactional Relationship between Parental and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Effect of Nurturant-Involved Parenting

Sameroff's transactional theory emphasizes a bidirectional process between parents and offspring. The present study explored the reciprocal relationships between parental and adolescent depressive symptoms using a cross-lagged model and examined the mediating effect of nurturant-involved parenting on the relationship between them. Data for the present study were collected from a longitudinal study, and a total of 1644 adolescents and their mothers and fathers participated in the present study. The results revealed a reciprocal relationship between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms, and the child-driven effect was more robust than the mother-driven effect. Adolescent depressive symptoms significantly predicted paternal depressive symptoms, but not vice versa. In addition, adolescent depressive symptoms indirectly predicted maternal and paternal depressive symptoms by deteriorating nurturant-involved parenting. These findings highlight a child-driven effect on parents' psychopathology, which may shed light on the mechanism underlying depression transmission between parents and adolescents.

Influence of Family Factors on Substance Use in Early Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study in Hong Kong

The present study examined the concurrent and longitudinal influences of paternal and maternal factors on the levels of and changes in substance use among early adolescents. Based on three waves of data collected from 2,669 junior high school Chinese students in Hong Kong, we found that fathers' and mothers' behavioral control and the quality of parent-adolescent relationship were negative predictors of the initial levels of substance use. Higher levels of maternal behavioral control and quality of mother-adolescent relationship predicted a slower rate of increase in adolescent substance use. Parental psychological control was not a significant predictor of the growth rate of adolescent substance use. While fathers' behavioral control and mother-adolescent relationship were stable concurrent predictors, the mother-adolescent relationship was a robust longitudinal predictor of adolescent substance use. The findings underline the critical roles of parents in influencing adolescent substance use.