A Comparison of Models for Interstate Wars and for Individual Violence

Children's Early Disruptive Behavior Predicts Later Coercive Behavior and Binge Drinking by Mothers

PURPOSE

We examined the prospective influence of early child problematic behavior on later coercive interactions and binge drinking by mothers.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Canadian participants are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, born between spring 1997 and 1998, which allowed a longitudinal birth cohort design. At the 41months, 628 parents reported on children's oppositional, aggressive, turbulent, and inattentive/hyperactive behavior. Mothers then reported on their own coercive and binge drinking behavior at the 60month follow-up.

RESULTS

We estimated a series of ordinary least-squares regressions to examine the relationship between early child behavior problems and later parental coercion and binge drinking, above and beyond many key pre-existing/concurrent confounding factors including prior parenting stress and binge alcohol use. Oppositional, aggressive, and turbulent child behaviors at 41months predicted harsh, negative parenting at 60months. Early inattentive/hyperactive child behavior also forecasted later binge alcohol use by mothers within the same time frame.

CONCLUSION

Negative preschool behavior predicted harsh, negative maternal behavior kindergarten entry. Early inattentive/hyperactive behavior also forecasted later binge alcohol use by mothers. Coercive parenting and alcohol use are clinically signs of adult distress. Such parents might use alcohol excessively because of its perceived stress-dampening effects and mental evasion from their life difficulties and frustration experiences.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Problematic preschool behavior can lead to less effective child-rearing and unhealthy parental behavior. Such at-risk mothers would benefit from professional caring practices. Practitioners can inspire change, especially using interaction interventions which encourage positive parent-child relations that, in turn, diminish parental distress.

Does proximity to retailers influence alcohol and tobacco use among Latino adolescents?

Despite decades of research surrounding determinants of alcohol and tobacco (A&T) use among adolescents, built environment influences have only recently been explored. This study used ordinal regression on 205 Latino adolescents to explore the influence of the built environment (proximity to A&T retailers) on A&T use, while controlling for recognized social predictors. The sample was 45% foreign-born. A&T use was associated with distance from respondents' home to the nearest A&T retailer (-), acculturation (+), parents' consistent use of contingency management (-), peer use of A&T (+), skipping school (+), attending school in immediate proximity to the US/Mexico border (+), and the interaction between the distance to the nearest retailer and parents' consistent use of contingency management (+). The association between decreasing distance to the nearest A&T retailer and increased A&T use in Latino adolescents reveals an additional risk behavior determinant in the US-Mexico border region.