The Influence of Parental Support and Community Belonging on Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Substance Use over Time

Can Physical, Psychological, and Social Vulnerabilities Predict Ageism?

Ageism can be expressed as the discrimination, social exclusion, and even abuse of older adults. The literature suggests that certain vulnerabilities could be risk factors affecting people's ageism. Based on the Social Identity Theory, the present study aimed to examine the association of physical/psychological and social vulnerabilities with ageism. The sample consisted of 200 Israelis from the general population who completed self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical regression indicated that low well-being, high post-traumatic distress, and limited social support were associated with ageism. Furthermore, the association of post-traumatic distress with ageism increased with age. The findings expand the knowledge of vulnerabilities as risk factors for ageism, perhaps reflecting its unconscious nature, and can assist in designing interventions for people interacting with older adults.

An Illustrative Review of Substance Use-Specific Insights From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

PURPOSE

The purpose of this illustrative, thematic review was to demonstrate the utility of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) for substance use research and to describe substance use-specific insights gained from Add Health research over the past 2 decades.

METHODS

We searched multiple electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) and selected an illustrative sample of 40 articles that used Add Health data and longitudinally examined a measure of alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drug use or prescription drug misuse as the exposure or outcome in association with diverse domains of additional factors assessed (social, emotional, behavioral, contextual, biological, and genetic).

RESULTS

Included articles identified several key associations between substance use behaviors and additional factors from a wide range of domains. For example, results from several studies indicated that experiences of sexual violence, adolescent dating violence, and intimate partner violence are associated with an increased likelihood of later prescription opioid misuse, heavy drinking, and marijuana use, with some differences by biological gender and race/ethnicity. Results from other studies showed that bidirectional associations between substance use and mental health differ by specific type of substance and mental health condition.

DISCUSSION

Existing research using Add Health data has provided valuable insights regarding substance use by leveraging the study's longitudinal design, the prospective nature of data collection, the breadth and depth of substance use questions assessed from adolescence to adulthood, the size and diversity of the cohort, and the wide range of additional factors measured over time.

In what ways do emerging adults with substance use problems experience their communities as influencing their personal recovery processes?

Applying the multiple psychological sense of community concept (MPSOC), this study explored how emerging adults with substance use problems experience the influences of various senses of community and communities on their personal recovery processes. Semi-structured interviews with 21 emerging adults from different urban contexts in Norway were analysed using a collaborative, seven-step, deductive, and reflexive thematic approach. MPSOC is shown to be a key concept for achieving a broad, in-depth understanding of emerging adults' senses of community and personal experiences of community influences on recovery processes from substance use. Positive and negative senses of community in geographical, relational, substance use-related and ideal communities influence the potentials and challenges in emerging adults' recovery processes. Supportive and motivating community relationships, meaningful activities with peers, and distance from recovery-impeding communities were identified as important recovery components. To promote recovery and prevent substance use in emerging adults, community approaches and tools applied in substance use treatment have to take into account and utilise multidimensional and age group-specific aspects of belonging.

Development and Psychometric Properties of the Synthetic Drug Dependence Scale in a Chinese Sample

Objective: In contrast to the drug situation in the rest of the world, synthetic drugs, rather than traditional drugs, have been the dominant abused drugs in China since 2019. However, the public misconception that synthetic drugs are not as addictive as traditional drugs, such as opioids and the scarcity of specific measurement instruments, have hindered the clinical diagnosis and treatment of synthetic drug abusers, thus the development of a localized instrument to evaluate dependence on synthetic drugs is in urgently needed.

Method: Using a sample of 618 Chinese synthetic drug abusers (Mean age = 34.69 years; 44.17% female), the present study developed and examined the psychometric properties of a self-reporting instrument, the Synthetic Drug Dependence Scale (SDDS), which consists of four subscales: physical dependence, psychological dependence, health injury, and social function injury.

Results: The SDDS revealed a three-factor model structure (weighted root mean square residual (WRMR) = 0.876, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.965, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.953, and Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.070), with good internal consistency (composite reliability = 0.912, alfa = 0.801) and convergent validity. Elevated scores on the SDDS were associated with a higher level of reward sensitivity, punishment sensitivity, and stronger impulsivity. Interestingly, psychological dependence was the only significant predictor (p < 0.05) of criterion variables compared with the other three subscales, implying the important role of psychological factors in synthetic drugs dependence. Adequate measurement equivalence across sex, age (18–30 and 31–57 years old), and employment group (employed and unemployed) was also established.

Conclusion: The SDDS appears to be an effective and reliable instrument that could be used to further investigate the characteristics of synthetic and traditional drug dependence, promoting a deeper understanding of the physical and psychological roles in drug dependence.

Parental support and monitoring as associated with adolescent alcohol and tobacco use by gender and age

BACKGROUND

Parental support (PS) and parental monitoring (PM) are known protective factors against adolescent substance use (SU). However, little is known about whether PS and PM may affect SU outcomes differently by gender and age. This study examined the relationship between PS and PM and adolescent SU, specifically alcohol and tobacco use, stratified by gender and age group.

METHODS

Middle and high school students (n = 2351, 48.5% Female) completed surveys of self-reported SU, perceived PS and PM, and socioeconomic background. Age group was defined dichotomously as grade 7-8 Middle school and grade 9-10 High school students. PS and PM were each measured using previously validated tools. SU was measured by lifetime and past 30 days cigarette/alcohol use. One-way ANOVA and binary logistic regression models were completed. Odds ratios and means were reported.

RESULTS

PS and PM were significantly and negatively related to all outcome variables regardless of gender and age group. Mean differences in PS and PM were insignificant between age groups. Between genders, PM scores were significantly higher for girls (14.05) compared to boys (13.48) (p < 0.01). Odds Ratios of all four SU types (for alcohol and tobacco use) increased with higher age group, with ORs ranging from 1.45-2.61 (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

PS and PM were protective against SU for all participants, consistent with previous literature. Girls reported greater parental monitoring than boys, irrespective of age-group. While girls experienced higher levels of monitoring, they did not report lower SU than boys. This suggests that monitoring girls more closely than boys appears unnecessary in preventing adolescent SU. Finally, PS was a more significant factor in preventing SU for older adolescents (high school aged group) than for younger adolescents, irrespective of gender suggesting that PS may be more impactful and important as adolescents age. As children mature, particularly from middle school to high school, PS may play a larger role in preventing SU for older adolescents compared to younger ones.

Race/Ethnicity, Parental Support, and Youth Depressive Symptoms: A Moderated Longitudinal Mediation Analysis

Racial/ethnic disparities in depression exist among youth in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if parental support trajectories in adolescence explain the relationship between race/ethnicity and depressive symptom trajectories in adulthood. A two-step longitudinal parallel process analysis with multigroup structural equation modeling was conducted with a nationally representative sample of youth (N = 5300; 48.5% female; M = 13.33 (Range:12-15) years at baseline). While parental support trajectories did not mediate the relationship between race/ethnicity and depressive symptoms, parental support trajectories were related to depressive symptom trajectories in adulthood. Immigrant generation status also moderated the relationship between race/ethnicity and depressive symptom trajectories. The results demonstrate the impact of parental support on later mental health outcomes regardless of race/ethnicity.

Youth Perceptions of Parental Involvement and Monitoring, Discrepancies With Parental Perceptions, and Their Associations With First Cigarette Use in Black and White Girls

OBJECTIVE

Low parental involvement and monitoring are risk factors for adolescent cigarette use. Assessments of parental involvement and monitoring by youth and parents may capture an additional source of risk: differences in perceptions of these parenting behaviors. This study tested for unique contributions of youth-reported parental involvement and monitoring and youth-parent discrepancies in reporting to first cigarette use in girls.

METHOD

Data were drawn from interviews at ages 8-17 with 1,869 girls (57.3% Black, 42.7% White) and their primary caregivers (94% mothers) in the Pittsburgh Girls Study. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted to predict first cigarette use as a function of girls' reports of parental involvement and monitoring, magnitude and direction of youth-parent reporting discrepancies, and the interaction between them, adjusting for neighborhood, socioeconomic, and individual level factors.

RESULTS

High magnitude of discrepancy in parental involvement reports (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.03, 1.26]) and lower perceived parental involvement by girls (HR = 1.14, CI [1.03, 1.27]) were associated with an elevated risk for first cigarette use. Girls' reports of low parental monitoring also predicted first cigarette use (HR = 1.14, CI [1.06, 1.21]).

CONCLUSIONS

Girls whose parents have limited awareness of their whereabouts and friends (i.e., low monitoring) are at an elevated risk for trying cigarettes, but parent-daughter differences in perceived awareness do not affect risk. By contrast, girls who perceive a lower degree of parental involvement than their parents do are at increased risk. Monitoring is one component of parenting that may reduce smoking risk; shared perspectives on the parent's level of involvement are similarly important.

Parent-child Relationships and Sexual Minority Youth: Implications for Adult Alcohol Abuse

Sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and same-sex attracted) youth and adults report elevated rates of alcohol use and abuse relative to their heterosexual peers; these differences are strongest for sexual minority girls and women. Although preliminary evidence suggests that unsupportive parenting and maladaptive parent-child relationship qualities are associated with concurrent substance use among sexual minority youth, questions remain about the long-term implications of these early familial experiences on drinking behaviors among sexual minority youth and adults. Nationally-representative prospective data (n = 14,800; 53.1% female; Wave 1 Mean age = 15.61; Wave 4 Mean age = 28.51) were used to test the longitudinal association between parent-child relationships and parental autonomy granting between the ages of 13-18, and sexual-orientation-related disparities in alcohol abuse during adulthood. The findings showed that adolescent same-sex attraction was associated with alcohol abuse during adulthood for sexual minority women and that deficits in parent-child relationship quality statistically mediated this association. No sexual orientation differences in alcohol abuse were found among men. The findings suggest that the quality of relationships with parents in early adolescence has long-lasting impact on sexual minority women's vulnerability for alcohol abuse. Early interventions that bolster supportive parent-child relationship qualities may have enduring consequences for sexual minority women's alcohol use across the life course.