The role of monitoring skills in mediating the association between parent's hazardous alcohol consumption and adolescents' drinking

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate whether parental monitoring skills mediate the effect of hazardous parental alcohol consumption on adolescents' lifetime alcohol use.

METHODS

This three wave longitudinal study was conducted with 884 families (n = 1,768 participants) to evaluate the effectiveness of a family-based drug prevention program for adolescents and parents across 12 Brazilian cities. We used structural equation mediation modeling to analyze the effect of hazardous parental alcohol consumption at baseline on adolescents' lifetime alcohol use at 12-month follow-up, mediated by parental monitoring skills latent dimension at 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS

We found a significant indirect effect of parents' hazardous alcohol use on adolescents' alcohol use through parental monitoring (OR:1.18, 95%CI:1.02;1.36).

CONCLUSION

Our finding underscores the importance of comprehensive preventive family alcohol approaches targeting adolescent alcohol use, which should consider both parental drinking behavior and monitoring practices.

Psychometric properties of the family assessment task parental monitoring scenario among adolescents receiving substance use treatment

INTRODUCTION

The Family Assessment Task (FAsTask) is an observer-rated parent-child interaction task used in adolescent substance use intervention. The parental monitoring component of the FAsTask is thought to provide an objective assessment of parental monitoring that can guide treatment planning and circumvent the potential limitations of self-report measures. Yet, the factor structure, measurement invariance, and concurrent validity of the parental monitoring FAsTask has not been evaluated; doing so is essential to effectively guide clinical care. This study examined if the parental monitoring FAsTask can be reliably administered across adolescent age and sex, and to identify which components of the parental monitoring FAsTask are most consistently associated with adolescent substance use.

METHODS

The study pooled data from 388 adolescent-caregiver dyads across six separate clinical trials (adolescents [Mage = 15.7, 57.5% male, 61.9% White, 31.2% Latine]; caregivers [Mage = 42.14, 88.7% female, 72.7% White, 24.2% Latine]). Dyads completed the FAsTask and the Timeline Followback at baseline, prior to randomization. Analyses proceeded in three steps. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in half of the sample, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the second half of the sample. Second, measurement invariance was tested as a function of adolescent age and biological sex. Third, a series of structural equation models were used to assess the associations of each factor with alcohol use, binge drinking, and cannabis use.

RESULTS

EFA and CFA indicated the presence of four factors (labeled Supervised/Structured, Active Monitoring, Task Engagement, and Parental Rules/Strategies). Evidence of measurement invariance was found across adolescent age and sex. The Supervision/Structure was negatively associated with adolescent alcohol use, binge drinking, and cannabis use.

CONCLUSIONS

The parental monitoring FAsTask demonstrates validity and retains its structure across adolescent age and sex. Items focused on parental supervision and structure are most strongly associated with adolescent substance use and may best inform clinical care for adolescent substance use.

Beyond the Laws: Parental Monitoring, Perceived Acceptability of Underage Drinking and Alcohol Use Among Belgian Youth

Parental monitoring behaviors are negatively associated with adolescent substance use. Yet, the processes explaining these associations are still unclear. The current study examined adolescents' knowledge of minimum legal drinking age laws and their perceived acceptability of underage drinking as potential mediators of the links between parental monitoring behaviors and youth alcohol use. The sample included 1154 Belgian adolescents (Mage = 16.34, SD = 1.33; 71% girls), who were recruited in Wallonia (54.9%) and in Flanders (45.1%). Path analyses revealed that higher parental rule setting, but not solicitation, was related to lower alcohol use. Acceptability of underage drinking mediated this link, but not knowledge of the laws. Results suggest that beyond laws regulating the minimum legal drinking age, alcohol use prevention programs should consider the importance of parental rule setting and youth's perceived acceptability of underage drinking.

The influence of socioenvironmental risk factors on risk-taking behaviors among Bahamian adolescents: a structural equation modeling analysis

Background

Adolescents' risk-taking behaviors can have profound impacts on their future health. Few studies have established a relationship between multiple social environmental factors and adolescent risk behaviors. We used structural equation modeling to examine the role of parental monitoring and environmental risks on adolescents' behavioral intentions and risk behaviors.

Methods

Data were collected through the baseline survey of a national implementation project among 2205 Grade 6 students in 24 government schools in The Bahamas in 2019. Structural equation modeling examined relations among parental monitoring, environmental risk factors, behavioral intentions, and risk behaviors.

Results

Students had engaged in various delinquent, substance use, and sexual risks. In the structural equation model, parental monitoring demonstrated direct negative (protective) effects on behavioral intentions and risk behaviors, whereas environmental risk factors had a direct positive effect on adolescent behavioral intentions and risk behaviors. The model had an R2 value of 0.57 for adolescent risk behaviors.

Conclusion

Parental monitoring and environmental risk factors had strong influences on risk-taking behaviors of early adolescents. Future adolescent health behavior interventions should consider offering additional prevention resources to early adolescents who are exposed to multiple environmental risk factors.

Family ties: examining family functioning and alcohol use among American Indian youth

Purpose

This study aims to examine a second-order latent variable of family functioning built from two established protective factors for American Indian (AI) youth, i.e. family cohesion and parental monitoring. This study then examines if family functioning is related to alcohol use frequency or age of initiation for AI youth. Additionally, this study examines if family functioning served as a moderator for the risk factor of peer alcohol use.

Design/methodology/approach

Data came from the 2021 Our Youth, Our Future survey. Participants were 4,373 AI adolescents from Grades 6-12 across the contiguous USA. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the latent variable of family functioning. Structural paths and interaction terms between peer use and family functioning were added to the SEM to explore direct and moderating effects.

Findings

Family cohesion and parental monitoring were best represented by a second-order latent variable of family functioning, which was related to later initiation and lower alcohol use frequency.

Practical implications

The findings regarding the initiation of alcohol use may be applicable to prevention programs, with family functioning serving as a protective factor for the initiation of alcohol use. Programs working toward alcohol prevention may be best served by focusing on family-based programs.

Originality/value

The latent variable of family functioning is appropriate for use in AI samples. Family functioning, which is an inherent resilience factor in AI communities, was shown to be protective against harmful alcohol use behaviors.

Brain development mediates the relationship between self-reported poor parental monitoring and adolescent anxiety

Adolescence is the peak period for the onset of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Brain networks of cognitive and affective control in adolescents are not well developed when their exposure to external stimuli suddenly increases.Reasonable parental monitoring is especially important during this period.To examine the role of parental monitoring in the development of functional brain networks of GAD, we conducted a cross-validation-based predictive study based on the functional brain networks of 192 participants. We found that a set of functional brain networks, especially the default mode network and its connectivity with the frontoparietal network, could predict the ages of adolescents, which was replicated in three independent samples.Importantly, the difference between predicted age and chronological age significantly mediated the relationship between parental monitoring and anxiety levels. These findings suggest that inadequate parental monitoring plays a crucial role in the delayed development of specific brain networks associated with GAD in adolescents. Our work highlights the important role of parental monitoring in adolescent development.

Exploring effects of multi-level factors on transitions of risk-taking behaviors among middle-to-late adolescents

Adolescents experiment with risk behaviors, including delinquency, substance use, and sexual activity. Multi-level social factors, such as having high-risk peers, neighborhood risks, and parental monitoring, influence adolescents' behaviors. We modeled transition patterns in Bahamian adolescents' risk behaviors across three high school years and examined the effects of multi-level factors. We collected data from 2,564 Bahamian adolescents in Grade 10 and follow-ups through Grade 12. We used latent transition model to identify adolescents' risk statuses. Further analyses used multinomial logistic regression to explore the effects of multi-level factors on assignment to those latent statuses and transitions. We identified four distinct statuses: "low risk" (47.9% of the sample at baseline), "alcohol use" (36.8%), "alcohol use and sexual activity" (5.5%), and "high risk" (9.8%). Males were more likely to be in higher-risk statuses at baseline and to transition from a lower-risk status in Grade 10 to a higher-risk status in Grade 11. Social risk factors were significantly associated with higher-risk statuses at baseline. Neighborhood risk and peer risk involvement continued to affect transitions from lower to higher risk; parental monitoring did not have a significant effect in later years. Our findings have important implications for developing targeted and developmentally appropriate interventions to prevent and reduce risk behaviors among middle-to-late adolescents.

Influence of family structure on adolescent deviant behavior and depression: the mediation roles of parental monitoring and school connectedness

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore the specific pathway of family structure on adolescent health.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

We examined the influence of family structure on adolescent deviant behavior and depression, as well as the mediation roles of parental monitoring and school connectedness, using the multivariate regression and Karlson-Holm-Breen mediation models.

RESULTS

Compared with adolescents in intact families, those in non-intact families showed more deviant behaviors and depression. Parental monitoring and school connectedness appeared to be two important pathways from family structure to deviant behavior and depression. In addition, urban and female adolescents in non-intact families showed more deviant behaviors and depression than their rural and male counterparts, respectively. Furthermore, adolescents in reconstituted families showed more deviant behaviors than those in single-parent families.

CONCLUSIONS

The behavioral and mental health of adolescents in single-parent or reconstituted families deserves more attention, and interventions should be actively conducted at both family and school level to improve adolescent health.

Child maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and parental monitoring in relation to adolescent behavior problems: Disaggregating between and within person effects

BACKGROUND

Parent-child relationship quality (PCRQ) and parental monitoring (PM) are associated with adolescent behavior problems following child maltreatment (CM). Whether these associations are best characterized as between (trait) or within-person (state) differences is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

Disaggregate between and within-person effects for PCRQ and PM on adolescent behavior problems and test whether these effects vary as a function of prior CM.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants (n = 941) are from the Longitudinal Studies on Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).

METHODS

Multi-level modeling was employed using PCRQ, PM, and adolescent behaviors assessed at ages 12, 14, and 16 and confirmed CM prior to age 12.

RESULTS

At the between-person level, adolescents with higher average levels of PCRQ and PM had significantly lower initial levels of externalizing (b = -9.47 and -5.54, respectively, p's < 0.05; possible range 0-66) and internalizing behaviors (b = -4.45 and -6.41, respectively, p's < 0.001; possible range 0-62). At the within-person level, greater declines in externalizing and internalizing behaviors were found when individuals reported higher-than-usual levels of PCRQ (b = -4.99 and -2.59, respectively, for externalizing and internalizing, p's < 0.001) and PM (b = -3.58 and -1.69, respectively, for externalizing and internalizing, p's < 0.001). There was an interaction between PM and CM on internalizing behaviors over time (b = -1.15, p = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONS

There are between and within-person effects of PCRQ and PM on adolescent behavior problems. Adolescents with CM histories and low levels of PM may be at risk for sustained internalizing behaviors.

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.

The Relationship between Parental Monitoring, Peer Pressure, and Motivations for Responsible Drinking among Italian Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Positive Alcohol Expectancies

This study investigated the associations between parental monitoring, peer pressure, and motivations for responsible drinking, while also taking the mediating role of positive alcohol expectancies into account. The participants were 579 Italian adolescents, aged 14-20 years (M = 16.39 years, SD = 1.27; 55.3% females), involved in a cross-sectional survey. They were administered online self-report questionnaires. Structural equation modeling revealed both direct and indirect positive associations between study variables. Parental monitoring was positively associated, both directly and indirectly, with adolescents' motivations for responsible drinking through the mediation of positive alcohol expectancies; peer pressure was negatively and indirectly associated with adolescents' motivations for responsible drinking, via the mediating role of positive alcohol expectancies. Findings highlighted the importance of environmental factors with regard to motivations for responsible drinking, suggesting the opportunity to implement prevention programs to improve parental monitoring and increase adolescents' skills to manage peer pressure and to develop realistic expectancies about drinking.

Family-Related Factors and HIV-Related Outcomes Among Black Young Men Who Have Sex with Men in Mississippi

Given their disproportionate HIV incidence, there is a critical need to identify factors related to HIV risk among Black young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in the southeastern United States. This study investigated the association of family factors and HIV-related outcomes among Black YMSM in Mississippi ages 14-20 (n = 72). Multivariable regression models evaluated associations of family factors and outcomes. Greater parent/child communication about sex was associated with fewer lifetime male sex partners and lower odds of lifetime anal sex. Greater parental monitoring was associated with greater likelihood of future condom use. Sexual orientation disclosure was associated with more lifetime male sex partners. Parental monitoring and parent/child communication about sex were protective, suggesting that family-based interventions are promising for HIV prevention among Black YMSM in Mississippi. Results also indicated that YMSM who are "out" to family are important to reach, and families could be useful in encouraging healthy behaviors.

Development of cognitive control during adolescence: The integrative effects of family socioeconomic status and parenting behaviors

Cognitive control is of great interest to researchers and practitioners. The concurrent association between family socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescent cognitive control is well-documented. However, little is known about whether and how SES relates to individual differences in the development of adolescent cognitive control. The current four-year longitudinal investigation (N = 167, 13-14 years at Wave 1) used multi-source interference task performance (reaction time in interference correct trials minus neutral correct trials) and corresponding neural activities (blood oxygen level dependent contrast of interference versus neutral conditions) as measures of cognitive control. SES and parenting behaviors (warmth, monitoring) were measured through surveys. We examined direct and indirect effects of earlier SES on the development of cognitive control via parenting behaviors; the moderating effect of parenting also was explored. Results of latent growth modeling (LGM) revealed significant interactive effects between SES and parenting predicting behavioral and neural measures of cognitive control. Lower family SES was associated with poorer cognitive performance when coupled with low parental warmth. In contrast, higher family SES was associated with greater improvement in performance, as well as a higher intercept and steeper decrease in frontoparietal activation over time, when coupled with high parental monitoring. These findings extend prior cross-sectional evidence to show the moderating effect of the parenting environment on the potential effects of SES on developmental changes in adolescent cognitive control.

Parental Knowledge/Monitoring and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence: Protective Factor or Spurious Association?

Parental knowledge/monitoring is negatively associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, suggesting monitoring could be a target for prevention and treatment. However, no study has rigorously addressed the possibility that this association is spurious, leaving the clinical and etiological implications unclear. The goal of this study was to conduct a more rigorous test of whether knowledge/monitoring is causally related to depressive symptoms. 7940 youth (ages 10.5-15.6 years, 49% female) at 21 sites across the U.S. completed measures of parental knowledge/monitoring and their own depressive symptoms at four waves 11-22 weeks apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, monitoring and depression were examined in standard, between-family regression models. Second, within-family changes in monitoring and depression between assessments were examined in first differenced regressions. Because the latter models control for stable, between-family differences, they comprise a stronger test of a causal relation. In standard, between-family models, parental monitoring and youths' depressive symptoms were negatively associated (standardized [Formula: see text]= -0.22, 95% CI = [-0.25, -0.20], p < 0.001). In first-differenced, within-family models, the association shrunk by about 55% (standardized [Formula: see text]= -0.10, 95% CI = [-0.12, -0.08], p < 0.001). The magnitude of within-family association remained similar when adjusting for potential time-varying confounders and did not vary significantly by youth sex, age, or history of depressive disorder. Thus, in this community-based sample, much of the prima facie association between parental knowledge/monitoring and youths' depressive symptoms was driven by confounding variables rather than a causal process. Given the evidence to date, a clinical focus on increasing parental knowledge/monitoring should not be expected to produce meaningfully large improvements in youths' depression.

Impact of social environment on sexual behaviors of adolescent girls in 12 sub-Saharan African countries: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Early sexual debut among adolescent girls may result in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), pregnancy among adolescent girls may adversely impact the continuation of their education, general health status, and birth outcomes. However, few cross-national studies have examined the role that the social environment plays in adolescent girls' sexual behaviors in SSA. In this study, we explored adolescent girls' social environment and the impact on their sexual behaviors..

METHODS

The country selection was based on availability of Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) national data (2003-2015). The total analytic sample was 22,067 adolescent girls from 12 countries in SSA. Descriptive statistics were generated to determine the characteristics of adolescent girls and independent samples t-test analysis were performed to determine whether there were differences between the social environment and age of sexual debut and sexual partners. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between adolescent girls' social environment and sexual debut.

RESULTS

The study results showed variations across the 12 countries. Almost one in five (19.9%) adolescent girls reported to have ever engaged in sexual intercourse. Their mean age of sexual debut was 13.21 (13.04-13.37) years and mean number of sexual partners was 2.19 (2.08-2.29). We found that adolescent girls who reported not being connected with their parents were more likely to debut sex (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI, 1.14-1.53, p < 0.000). Parental monitoring was significantly associated with sexual debut but after controlling for the confounding variables (age, class grade and drug use), the association was no longer significantly positively associated. Adolescent girls who felt supported by their peers had a significantly higher number of sexual partners than those who did not feel supported by their peers.

CONCLUSION

The social environment of adolescent girls plays a very important role in sexual debut, age of sexual debut, and the number of sexual partners. Sexual health policies targeting adolescent girls are likely to achieve positive impacts if they focus on improving parental connectedness and peer support.

Mapping the complex causal mechanisms of drinking and driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults

BACKGROUND

The proportion of motor vehicle crash fatalities involving alcohol-impaired drivers declined substantially between 1982 and 1997, but progress stopped after 1997. The systemic complexity of alcohol-impaired driving contributes to the persistence of this problem. This study aims to identify and map key feedback mechanisms that affect alcohol-impaired driving among adolescents and young adults in the U.S.

METHODS

We apply the system dynamics approach to the problem of alcohol-impaired driving and bring a feedback perspective for understanding drivers and inhibitors of the problem. The causal loop diagram (i.e., map of dynamic hypotheses about the structure of the system producing observed behaviors over time) developed in this study is based on the output of two group model building sessions conducted with multidisciplinary subject-matter experts bolstered with extensive literature review.

RESULTS

The causal loop diagram depicts diverse influences on youth impaired driving including parents, peers, policies, law enforcement, and the alcohol industry. Embedded in these feedback loops are the physical flow of youth between the categories of abstainers, drinkers who do not drive after drinking, and drinkers who drive after drinking. We identify key inertial factors, discuss how delay and feedback processes affect observed behaviors over time, and suggest strategies to reduce youth impaired driving.

CONCLUSION

This review presents the first causal loop diagram of alcohol-impaired driving among adolescents and it is a vital first step toward quantitative simulation modeling of the problem. Through continued research, this model could provide a powerful tool for understanding the systemic complexity of impaired driving among adolescents, and identifying effective prevention practices and policies to reduce youth impaired driving.

The influence of youth and parent reports of parental knowledge and monitoring and reporting discrepancy on high risk youth offending

INTRODUCTION

Positive parenting practices are known to be related to lower levels of youth offending. Questions remain as to the overlap between youth and parent perceptions of parenting practices, and the relationship of perception discrepancies with youth offending. This study examines the concordance of parenting behaviors reports, the relationship between parent and youth perceptions of parenting measures with youth offending, and whether discordant youth and parent reports are related to heterogeneity in youth offending.

METHODS

Survey data from 818 high risk U.S. youth averaging 16 years old who participated in the Pathways to Desistance study and his or her parent form the basis of this analysis.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate youth and parent reports of parental knowledge and parental monitoring are correlated, yet independent predictors of youth offending variety scores. Youth and parent reports about parenting measures demonstrate youth offending is highest when youth perceive parents as uninvolved, and lowest when youth estimates of parental knowledge and monitoring are higher than parent estimates. Parenting matters for high-risk youth, especially in reducing the likelihood of property offending. Using multiple perspectives to assess parenting practices is important in studying these dyadic relationships.

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.

Friends and family matter Most: a trend analysis of increasing e-cigarette use among Irish teenagers and socio-demographic, personal, peer and familial associations

BACKGROUND

E-cigarette ever-use and current-use among teenagers has increased worldwide, including in Ireland.

METHODS

We use data from two Irish waves (2015, 2019) of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) to investigate gender and teenage e-cigarette use (n = 3421 16-year-olds). Using chi-square analyses, we report changes in e-cigarette ever-use, current-use, and associated variables. Using multivariable logistic regression, we analyse the increase in e-cigarette use and socio-demographic, personal, peer and familial associations, focusing on gender differences.

RESULTS

E-cigarette ever-use increased from 23% in 2015 to 37% in 2019, and current-use from 10 to 18%. Compared with 2015, the odds in 2019, of becoming both an e-cigarette ever-user and current-user, were significantly higher for girls than boys (ever-use: AOR 2.67 vs 2.04; current-use: AOR 3.11 vs 1.96). Smoking and e-cigarette use are linked but never-smokers who try e-cigarettes rose significantly from 33 to 67% and those using e-cigarettes to quit smoking decreased significantly from 17 to 3%. Almost two-thirds of respondents (66%) in 2019 said that their reason for trying e-cigarettes was "out of curiosity". Peer smoking is significantly associated with likelihood of e-cigarette ever-use (AOR 6.52) and current-use (AOR 5.45). If "Most/All friends smoke", odds were significantly higher for boys than for girls (ever-use AOR 7.07 vs 6.23; current-use AOR 5.90 vs 5.31). Less parental monitoring is significantly associated with greater e-cigarette ever-use (AOR 3.96) and current-use (4.48), and having parents who usually don't know where their child is on Saturday nights was also associated with significantly higher odds for boys than for girls (ever-use AOR 5.42 vs 3.33; current-use AOR 5.50 vs 3.50).

CONCLUSION

Respondents had significantly higher odds of being e-cigarette ever- and current-users in 2019 compared with 2015. Use is higher among boys but girls are increasingly at risk. Two-thirds had never smoked cigarettes at first e-cigarette use; two-thirds used out of curiosity but few (3%) for smoking cessation. The most prominent risk factors for e-cigarette use were peer- and parent-related, especially so for boys. Interventions that take account of friend and family influences may provide mechanisms for preventing an increasing risk of nicotine addiction.

Sex differences in the association between parental monitoring and substance use initiation among adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Parental involvement and supervision (i.e., "parental monitoring;" PM) is generally inversely associated with substance use among youth; yet, specific features of this association remain unclear. This study examined PM as a prospective predictor of substance use initiation across adolescence and whether associations generalize across a range of substances and by sex.

METHODS

Participants were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study of high school students from Southern California. We assessed, among never-users at baseline (2014; participants were in 10th grade), the role of PM in 8 substance use initiation outcomes (initiation of 7 individual substances or categories of substances: alcohol, cigarettes, electronic (e-) cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, stimulants, or opioids, as well as the total number of substances initiated) at follow-up (2017; 12th grade), controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Multiplicative interactions assessed differences by sex.

RESULTS

In adjusted main effects models, PM was associated with lower odds of initiation of all substances (OR range: 0.60 for cigarettes to 0.82 for alcohol) and male sex was associated with increased odds of initiating use of cigarettes (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.73) and cigars (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.32, 2.52) over follow-up. There were also significant PM × sex interactions for cigarettes (p = 0.038), e-cigarettes (p = 0.042), and marijuana (p = 0.044), whereby lower PM was associated with greater odds of initiation among females, compared to males.

CONCLUSIONS

PM is associated with reduced odds of initiating use of multiple substances among adolescents, particularly for females. Future research of the mechanisms underlying these associations can point towards intervention targets to prevent or delay substance use initiation among youth with low PM.

What game we are playing: the psychosocial context of problem gambling, problem gaming and poor well-being among Italian high school students

Gambling and gaming are not infrequent among adolescents and preventing low-risk youth from becoming at-risk appears to be a priority of public health strategies. Greater scrutiny of the risk and protective factors in the relationships and community of young people appears crucial in steering prevention initiatives adequately. This study aimed to explore the role of the qualities of relational networks (i.e. family functioning, perceived social and class support), family and peer approval and view of the social environment in predicting problem gambling, problem gaming and overall well-being among adolescents. High-school students aged 14-18 years (N: 595; female: 68,7%) completed a survey including the target variables. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the role of socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial predictors on gaming, gambling, and well-being. Multivariate multiple regressions identify a common core underpinning problem gambling, gaming and poor well-being but also the distinct roles of psychosocial variables: being male, with low parental monitoring, and an anomic view of the social environment all predict problem gambling and gaming, which were also found to be associated. Low social support predicts problem gambling but not problem gaming; poor family functioning predicts problem gaming but not problem gambling. All the target psychosocial variables, except approval of gambling, predict poor well-being. On the whole the findings suggest the need to look more closely at the way adolescents, their system of activity and their culture participate in constructing the meaning of gambling and gaming activities and their impact on adolescents' well-being, so that future studies and strategies can more effectively examine the relational dynamics in which problem gambling and gaming develop.

Moderating Effects of Herding Bias on the Relationship Between Parental Monitoring and Problem Gambling of Youths

One critical issue in problem gambling is its variation as a function of psychosocial factors. We used empirical data from Nigerian youth Soccer gamblers (N = 238) to explore gambling herding bias as a moderator of the relationship between parental monitoring and problem gambling. Specifically, examine how changes in parental monitoring influence changes in problem gambling, and how this influence is a function of levels of herding bias. Hayes PROCESS macro analysis results revealed that increase in parental monitoring was associated with decrease in problem gambling, whereas increase in herding bias was associated with increase in problem gambling. Herding bias positively moderated the relationship between parental monitoring and problem gambling such that, for respondents who had high and moderate herding bias scores, the relationship between parental monitoring and problem gambling was positive and strong, whereas, for repondents with low herding bias scores, the relationship between parental monitoring and problem gambling was negative. The present study reaffirms the negative and positive influences of parental monitoring and herding bias, respectively, on problem gambling among youths.

Perceived risk of harm from monthly cannabis use among US adolescents: National Survey on drug Use and Health, 2017

There has been a steady increase in cannabis use among US adolescents over the past decade. Perceptions of risk, specifically the belief that cannabis use is not harmful, may contribute to this increased use. The purpose of this study was to evaluate parental, school, and peer influence as protective factors in perceiving there is risk of harm from monthly cannabis use. Using the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the study outcome was self-reported perceived risk of harm from monthly cannabis use amongst adolescents between ages 12 and 17. The exposures were parental monitoring and support, perception of school importance, extracurricular activity participation, peer attitudes towards cannabis use, and perception of peer cannabis use. Of 12,024 eligible adolescents, about 80% reported perceived risk of harm from monthly cannabis use. Multiple logistic regression models suggest the perception of risk of harm from monthly cannabis use was significantly associated with perception of peers using cannabis, perception of peers' disapproval of cannabis use, perception of school importance, and participation in extracurricular activities. Adolescents who perceived that monthly cannabis use was risky had high parental monitoring, low perception of peer use, high perception of peers' disapproval of cannabis use, high perception of school importance, and participated more in extracurricular activities. These findings suggest substance use prevention programs targeting adolescent attitudes and beliefs would benefit from leveraging peer influence, promoting extracurricular activities, and enhancing schoolwork to be more meaningful.

Factors associated with crack-cocaine early initiation: a Brazilian multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Crack-cocaine dependence is a serious public health issue, related to several psychiatric and psychosocial problems. Crack-cocaine users are usually embedded in a context of great social vulnerability, often associated with violence, poverty, family conflict and easy and early access to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study enrolled a consecutive sample of 577 patients admitted to 20 therapeutic communities located in Southern Brazil, between September 2012 and September 2013. A structured interview assessed life-time exposure to risk and protective factors for drug use, such as parental monitoring in childhood, deviant behaviors and peer pressure.

RESULTS

Presence of family conflict (p = 0.002), maltreatment (p = 0.016), and deviant behavior prior to age 15 in a bivariate analysis predicted an earlier age of crack-cocaine initiation, whereas adolescents experiencing parental monitoring during adolescence started use later (p < 0.001). In the multivariate model, perceptions related to ease of access of illicit drugs (marijuana: p = 0.028, 95% CI = - 3.81, - 0.22; crack-cocaine: p < 0.001, 95% CI = - 7.40, - 4.90), and deviant behavior (threatening someone with a gun: p = 0.028, 95% CI = - 2.57, - 0.14) remained independent predictors of early age of crack-cocaine initiation.

CONCLUSIONS

Early onset of crack-cocaine use seems to be associated with exposure to family conflict, easy access to drugs and deviant behavior. Treatment and preventive programs should take these factors into account when designing and implementing community interventions.

Parent-adolescent relationships and their associations with adolescent suicidal behaviours: Secondary analysis of data from 52 countries using the Global School-based Health Survey

BACKGROUND

Despite the potential benefits of parents-adolescent relationships on suicidal behaviours among adolescents, research on these topics are importantly limited by lack of comprehensiveness, difficulties in cross-country comparisons, and limited generalisability, among others. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of various aspects of parents-adolescent relationships and suicidal behaviours by sex and region, and to investigate their associations.

METHODS

We used data from the Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) from 52 countries in 2009-2015 for 120 858 adolescents (53.9% girls) aged 12-15 years. Using meta-analysis with random effects, we estimated the prevalence of parents-adolescent relationships (i.e. understanding problems, monitoring academic and leisure time activities, and respecting privacy) and suicidal behaviours (i.e. suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempt). Multi-level mixed-effect logistic regressions were used to investigate their associations.

FINDINGS

Overall, boys and girls reported similar levels of parental understanding of problems (35.8% vs. 36.8%), monitoring academic activities (41.8% vs. 41.1%), and respecting privacy (69.6% vs. 69.7%), whereas girls reported higher level of parental monitoring of leisure time activities than boys (44.9% vs. 40.0%). Adolescents in the Western Pacific region reported the lowest level of parental understanding of problems and monitoring activities, while those in South-East Asia region least reported that their parents respected their privacy. The overall prevalence of any suicidal behaviour was higher in girls than boys (26.2% vs. 23.0%). Suicidal behaviour was less likely in adolescents if their parents understood their problems (odds ratio, 95% confidence intervals: 0.70, 0.68-0.73), monitored their academic (0.81, 0.78-0.84) and leisure time activities (0.73, 0.71-0.75), and respected their privacy (0.83, 0.80-0.86). There was evidence of heterogeneity in those associations by sex and regions.

INTERPRETATIONS

Although the prevalence of parents-adolescent relationships and adolescent suicidal behaviours varied particularly by sex and region, there were strong and independent associations among them.

Parenting as an inhibitor of gender disparities in alcohol use: the case of early adolescents in China

Background

Gender differences in alcohol use are more substantial among early adolescents in China than in the United States, presumably because of more permissive drinking norms for boys than girls in Chinese culture. This study tested a theory that gender differences in early experimentation with alcohol can be reduced through general parenting practices. Whereas traditional research has identified mediators of gender differences in alcohol use, the current research isolated moderators of gender differences and developed their implications for prevention programs.

Methods

The study analyzed the data from the China Global School-Based Student Health Survey (n = 8805 middle school students in four cities). Youth completed anonymous surveys in classroom settings. The study examined interaction effects between gender and parenting variables using multiple regression with robust standard errors.

Results

Early adolescent boys exhibited higher levels of drinking than girls for all drinking outcomes. The gender differences in drinking were negatively associated with the level of perceived parental monitoring, parental involvement in adolescent school performance, and parental empathy in a nonlinear way.

Conclusions

Results suggested that early adolescents’ perceptions of general parenting practice nonlinearly moderated gender disparities in alcohol use.

What are you sexting? Parental practices, sexting attitudes and behaviors among Italian adolescents

BACKGROUND

Sexting has recently emerged as a public health and social issue. The present study had two aims: a) to preliminarily test adolescent gender differences on parental practices regarding adolescent online life, parental monitoring, adolescent attitude towards sexting and sexting behaviors; b) to separately test for male and female adolescents a conceptual model in which sexting behaviors are explained by the parental practices and monitoring, with the mediation of adolescent negative attitude towards sexting.

METHODS

Direct and indirect links between the variables in the model were investigated. The study was carried out with 541 participants. Participants were Italian adolescents (60% males; 40% females) aged 14 to 19 years (M_age = 16,19 years, SD_age = 1,31).

RESULTS

Results suggested that females sent more multimedia sexts, had a higher perception of risk associated with sexting and reported higher scores for both parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring. Rules on Contents, Parental Knowledge, Adolescent Disclosure, and Parental Control resulted to be linked to both sexting attitudes and behaviors for male and female adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings emphasize the important role that parents play in shaping attitudes and behaviors of both daughters and sons during adolescence.

Protective factors against juvenile delinquency: Exploring gender with a nationally representative sample of youth

Youth's social bonds' with conventional social institutions (e.g., family and school) and parental management of youth's leisure time represent two dimensions of suppressants against juvenile delinquency. Using Multivariate regression, this paper assesses these two dimensions of factors simultaneously on youth's aggressive and non-aggressive delinquency, and examines if their effects are gender sensitive. Findings suggest that girls have significantly lower involvement in both aggressive and non-aggressive delinquency than boys. However, girls are disproportionately involved in non-aggressive delinquency. Parental monitoring protects boys and girls distinctively on aggressive delinquency; this factor has a more pronounced inhibitory effect on girls' aggressive behavior. This study elucidates that there is a gendered pattern in adolescent delinquency, and that gender moderates the effect of some protective factor.

Perceived Access and Parental Monitoring as Moderators of Impulsivity and Marijuana Use Among Adolescents

The social and political climate regarding marijuana use has been changing in the US over the past decade. Research suggests that many adolescents report relatively easy access to marijuana and perceptions that recreational use involves minimal harm despite a growing body of research implicating the deleterious effects of use on cognitive and psychological development. Not surprisingly, prevalence rates have been rising in recent years, making it important to identify risk and protective factors associated with adolescent marijuana use. We tested a 3-way interaction model designed to (a) examine the relationship between behavioral impulsivity and marijuana use in adolescents, and (b) evaluate the roles of perceived access and parental monitoring as moderators of this relationship. High school students (N = 498, M _age  = 15.7, 53% female, 77% White) completed an anonymous self-report assessment examining substance use, perceived access, and psychosocial factors related to substance use (i.e., behavioral impulsivity and parental monitoring). Results indicated that higher levels of impulsivity, greater access, and reduced parental monitoring were related to marijuana use. Significant moderating effects were found for perceived access and parental monitoring, such that use was greater for adolescents who perceived that marijuana was easier to acquire and for those with lower levels of parental monitoring. Among individuals with greater levels of impulsivity, parental monitoring reduced the impact of perceived access. Overall, results highlight risk and protective factors related to adolescent marijuana use and indicate that parental monitoring can be an effective means for reducing consumption.

An Exploration of the Ecological Context of Low-Income, Urban African-American Adolescent Sexual Risk

Prior health disparities research has indicated that urban, low-income African-American families and adolescents experience ecological and environmental hardships that result in higher rates of engagement in risk behaviors. Contextual factors like community violence, socioeconomic status, and family processes, as well as limited sexual health knowledge, a psychological element, also contribute to high rates of sexual risk among urban African-American adolescents. However, protective factors like parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication about sex may decrease sexual risk among this urban teen population. Therefore, the current study sought to explore the following research questions: (1) Is parent-adolescent communication about sex associated with adolescent sexual health knowledge?, (2) Is parent-adolescent communication about sex associated with parental monitoring?, (3) Are parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication about sex predictors of adolescent sexual risk?, (4) Are there gender differences in parent-adolescent communication about sex and parental monitoring?, and (5) Are age and gender predictors of adolescent sexual risk? A sample of approximately 1102 African-American adolescents aged 13-17 from urban Midwestern high schools were included in this study. There was no significant association found between sexual health knowledge and parent communication about sex or parental monitoring. Female adolescents reported higher levels of communication about sex than males. Findings indicated a significant negative association between parental monitoring and adolescent sexual risk, with the association being stronger for males than females. There was a significant negative association found between sexual health knowledge and adolescent sexual risk. Additionally, findings indicated a significant negative association between parental monitoring and adolescent sexual risk.

Parenting within residential neighborhoods: A pluralistic approach with African American and Latino families at the center

The intersection of SES and race-ethnicity impact youth development at the family and neighborhood levels. The confluence of neighborhood structural and social characteristics intersects to impact parenting multiple ways. Within lower-income neighborhoods, there is variability in economic and racial-ethnic demographics and social characteristics and a multitude of different lived experiences. We use a person-centered approach to understand how a plurality of neighborhood social characteristics shape parents' ethnic-racial socialization and monitoring strategies, normative parenting practices for diverse families. With 144 African American and Latino families in a new destination context-areas lacking an enduring historical and economic presence of same-ethnic populations-we examined whether we could replicate neighborhood profiles found in other neighborhood contexts using four neighborhood social process indicators (i.e., connectedness, cohesion and trust, informal social control, and problems), identified family- and neighborhood-level predictors of profiles, and explored differences in ethnic-racial socialization and parental monitoring knowledge by profile. We replicated three neighborhood profiles-integral (high on all positive social dynamics and low problems), anomic (low on all positive social dynamics and high problems), and high problems/positive relationships. Caregivers in these profiles differed in family SES and neighborhood disadvantage such that those in anomic neighborhoods had the lowest income-to-needs ratio whereas those in integral neighborhoods experienced the highest neighborhood disadvantage and lowest proportion of Hispanic residents. Egalitarianism, an ethnic-racial socialization message, and parental monitoring levels differed by neighborhood. Findings suggest African American and Latino families' unique experiences in a new destination context, signaling a complex interplay between race-ethnicity, SES, and place.

Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Delinquency: Unraveling Within-Family Processes from Between-Family Differences

Understanding the factors that predict adolescent delinquency is a key topic in parenting research. An open question is whether prior results indicating relative differences between families reflect the dynamic processes occurring within families. Therefore, this study investigated concurrent and lagged associations among parental behavioral control, parental solicitation, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency by separating between-family and within-family effects in three-wave annual data (N = 1515; Mage = 13.01 years at T1; 50.6% girls). At the within-family level, parental behavioral control negatively predicted adolescent delinquency. Adolescent disclosure and delinquency, and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation, reciprocally predicted each other. Parental solicitation negatively predicted parental behavioral control. The findings indicate a prominent role of adolescent disclosure in within-family processes concerning parental-adolescent communication and adolescent delinquency.

Relations among Perceptions of Neighborhood Cohesion and Control and Parental Monitoring across Adolescence

Social disorganization theory argues that disadvantaged neighborhoods will have less cohesion and control, and therefore will be less conducive to effective parental monitoring. This study aims to test these relationships using four waves of the Pitt Mother and Child Project (ages 11, 12, 15, and 17). The sample consists of 185 low-income males and their parents, 56.44% of whom identify as White, and 34.67% of whom identify African American. Crossed-lagged path models were estimated and the indirect effect of neighborhood disadvantage on parental monitoring through neighborhood cohesion and control was estimated. Separate models were estimated for parental and adolescent perceptions of parental monitoring. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between parental perception of neighborhood social cohesion and parental monitoring, and a negative relationship found between parental perceptions of neighborhood social control and parental monitoring in both models. The findings of this study suggests that neighborhoods may be an important target for interventions that are aiming to improve parental monitoring and ultimately adolescent outcomes.

Associations of Parental Monitoring and Violent Peers with Latino Youth Violence

This study aimed to examine the associations of parental monitoring and violent peers with violence among Latino youth, and whether these associations varied by acculturation. 133 adolescents were surveyed. Associations between parental monitoring, peer violence, and physical and non-physical violence were examined using bivariate and multivariable negative binomial regression. Multivariable analysis was stratified by age and acculturation. A path model examined whether peer violence mediated the relationship between parental monitoring and youth violence. Stratified analysis demonstrated that peer violence increased the risk of physical (RR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.02-1.20) and non-physical violence (RR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.08-1.62) for high-acculturated youth, whereas parental monitoring was protective for low-acculturated youth (physical RR = 0.88; 95% CI 0.78-0.99; non-physical RR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.68-0.93). In path analysis, low parental monitoring increased risk of involvement with violent peers, which was associated with increased risk of youth violence. Interventions may benefit from focusing on parental monitoring, peer violence, and tailoring by acculturation.

Autonomy-related Parenting Processes and Adolescent Adjustment in Latinx Immigrant Families

It is unclear how autonomy-related parenting processes are associated with Latinx adolescent adjustment. This study uses Latent Profile Analysis to identify typologies of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent conflict and examines their association with Latinx youth's school performance and depressive symptoms. The sample included 248 Latinx 9th and 10th graders (50% female) who completed surveys during fall (Time 1) and spring (Time 2) semesters of the school year. When compared to a high monitoring/low conflict parenting profile, a moderate monitoring/moderate conflict profile was associated with stronger declines in school performance; for boys, a high monitoring/moderately high conflict profile also was associated with greater increases in depressive symptoms. For Latinx immigrant families, researchers should consider monitoring and conflict as co-occurring processes.

Parental overprotection and youth suicide behavior in low- and middle-income countries: a multilevel analysis of cross-national data

OBJECTIVES

Research on youth suicide behavior has emphasized parent-child relations as a critical protective factor. This study investigates whether "too much" regulation of children, i.e., overprotection, may actually increase the likelihoods of youth suicide intent and plan.

METHODS

Data are drawn from the subset of the Global School-based Student Health Survey (2000-2012), consisting of children living in 48 low- and middle-income countries. Two-level hierarchical linear models are fitted to examine the potential curvilinear (U-shaped) association between parental monitoring and suicide behavior among youth.

RESULTS

Adjusting for individual- and country-level covariates, significant support is found for non-monotonicity specifically among boys: Greater parental involvement in male children's lives lowers both suicide ideation and suicide plan to some extent but, after certain thresholds, increases the odds of both outcomes. Results for girls, however, are much less pronounced.

CONCLUSIONS

In resource-poor countries marked by some of the highest teenage suicide rates in the world, overprotective parenting style is found to have negative and gendered consequences on the mental health of youth. More research is needed to confirm its replicability in economically more developed societies.

The interplay between externalizing disorders polygenic risk scores and contextual factors on the development of marijuana use disorders

Externalizing disorders have been extensively linked to substance use problems. However, less is known about whether genetic factors underpinning externalizing disorders and environmental features interact to predict substance use disorders (i.e., marijuana abuse and dependence) among urban African Americans. We examined whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) for conduct disorder (CD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) interacted with contextual factors (i.e., parental monitoring, community disadvantage) to influence risk for marijuana use disorders in a sample of African American youth. Participants (N=1,050; 44.2% male) were initially recruited for an elementary school-based universal prevention trial in a Mid-Atlantic city and followed through age 20. Participants reported on their parental monitoring in sixth grade and whether they were diagnosed with marijuana abuse or dependence at age 20. Blood or saliva samples were genotyped using the Affymetrix 6.0 microarrays. The CD and ADHD PRS were created based on genome-wide association studies conducted by Dick et al. (2010) and Demontis et al. (2017), respectively. Community disadvantage was calculated based on census data when participants were in sixth grade. There was an interaction between the CD PRS and community disadvantage such that a higher CD PRS was associated with greater risk for a marijuana use disorder at higher levels of neighborhood disadvantage. This finding should be interpreted with caution owing to the number of significance tests performed. Implications for etiological models and future research directions are presented.

Longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between family management and antisocial peer associations

INTRODUCTION

Poor family management and antisocial peer associations are related risk factors for negative outcomes such as adolescent substance misuse and conduct disorders. The relationship between family management and antisocial peer associations is complex. The purpose of this study was to test the reciprocal relationships between youth-reports of poor family management and antisocial peer associations over multiple time-points.

METHODS

We used four data points (5th-11th grade) from the Australian arm of the longitudinal International Youth Development Study (IYDS) to test a random-intercepts cross-lagged path model (N = 922).

RESULTS

The model fit the data well with path estimates showing that poor family management predicted greater antisocial peer associations at the next wave but not the reverse. A second model included a third autoregressive path to control for youth's own antisocial behavior; the direction of the relationships between poor family management and antisocial peer associations did not change.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that across adolescence poor family management predicts greater antisocial peer association, which provides evidence that family-focused interventions are an important prevention strategy even in adolescence.

Associations Between Croatian Adolescents' Use of Sexually Explicit Material and Sexual Behavior: Does Parental Monitoring Play a Role?

The use of sexually explicit material (SEM) has become a part of adolescent sexual socialization, at least in the Western world. Adolescent and young people's SEM use has been associated with risky sexual behaviors, which has recently resulted in policy debates about restricting access to SEM. Such development seems to suggest a crisis of the preventive role of parental oversight. Based on the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model, this study assessed the role of parental monitoring in the context of adolescent vulnerability to SEM-associated risky or potentially adverse outcomes (sexual activity, sexual aggressiveness, and sexting). Using an online sample of Croatian 16-year-olds (N = 1265) and structural equation modeling approach, parental monitoring was found consistently and negatively related to the problematic behavioral outcomes, regardless of participants' gender. While SEM use was related to sexual experience and sexting, higher levels of parental monitoring were associated with less frequent SEM use and lower acceptance of sexual permissiveness. Despite parents' fears about losing the ability to monitor their adolescent children's lives in the Internet era, there is evidence that parental engagement remains an important protective factor.

Is Technology-Mediated Parental Monitoring Related to Adolescent Substance Use?

BACKGROUND

Prevention researchers have identified parental monitoring leading to parental knowledge to be a protective factor against adolescent substance use. In today's digital society, parental monitoring can occur using technology-mediated communication methods, such as text messaging, email, and social networking sites.

OBJECTIVES

The current study aimed to identify patterns, or clusters, of in-person and technology-mediated monitoring behaviors, and examine differences between the patterns (clusters) in adolescent substance use.

METHODS

Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 289 parents of adolescents using Facebook and Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Cluster analyses were computed to identify patterns of in-person and technology-mediated monitoring behaviors, and chi-square analyses were computed to examine differences in substance use between the identified clusters.

RESULTS

Three monitoring clusters were identified: a moderate in-person and moderate technology-mediated monitoring cluster (moderate-moderate), a high in-person and high technology-mediated monitoring cluster (high-high), and a high in-person and low technology-mediated monitoring cluster (high-low). Higher frequency of technology-mediated parental monitoring was not associated with lower levels of substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

Results show that higher levels of technology-mediated parental monitoring may not be associated with adolescent substance use.

Family management risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use in South Africa

Background

An increasingly recognised prevention approach for substance use entails a reduction in risk factors, and the enhancement of promotive, or protective factors in individuals and the environment surrounding them during their growth and development.

Methods

This exploratory study evaluated the effect of potential risk and protective factors associated with family management relating to adolescent substance use in South Africa. Exploratory analysis and cumulative odds ordinal logistic regression modelling was performed on the data, while controlling for the influence of demographic and socio-economic characteristics on adolescent substance use.

Results

The most frequently used substances were cannabis, followed by other illicit substances and alcohol in decreasing order of use intensity. The specific protective, or risk effect of family management factors, varied according to substance. Risk factors associated with demographic and socio-economic factors included being male, of a younger age, lower education grades, of a coloured ethnicity, adolescents from divorced parents, and unemployed or fully employed mothers. Several family management factors, categorised as parental monitoring, discipline, behavioural control and rewards, demonstrated either risk or protective effects on adolescent substance use.

Conclusions

This exploratory study demonstrated that various risk and protective factors associated with family management may affect adolescent substance use. Interaction amongst risk or protective factors, as well as the type of substance, should be considered when further considering interventions based on these risk or protective factors.

Examining parental monitoring as a moderator of the relationship between depressed mood and alcohol use and problems

BACKGROUND

The comorbidity of depressed mood and college student drinking causes consequences for both the individual and society. Aspects of parenting have been shown to be important for college students' well-being. While some interventions are beginning to address this population, few studies have examined how parental monitoring impacts the relationship between depressed mood, alcohol use, and related consequences. The present study examined whether perceived parental monitoring moderated the relationship between depressed mood and alcohol use and related problems.

METHODS

Students (N = 796) completed a survey during the fall semester of their first two years of college at a large, public university assessing drinking and related negative consequences, maternal and paternal monitoring, and depressed mood.

RESULTS

Results revealed that maternal and paternal monitoring moderated the relationship between depressed mood and typical weekly drinking, and depressed mood and consequences (i.e., self-perception, self-care, blackouts).

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions should be tailored to parents based on considerations of both student mental health and alcohol use.

When parents supply alcohol to their children: Exploring associations with drinking frequency, alcohol-related harms, and the role of parental monitoring

BACKGROUND

Youth obtain alcohol from many sources, including friends, siblings, parents and other adults. Whether parental supply, relative to other sources, is associated with experiencing a negative alcohol-related outcome is an area of considerable debate. Less well understood is whether the observed association is further contextualized by level of parental monitoring of the child.

OBJECTIVES

This study has two main objectives: 1) determine if there is a relationship between parental supply, drinking frequency, and alcohol-related harms among youth; and 2) assess whether parental monitoring moderates this relationship.

METHODS

Participants were drawn from the 2012 Student Drug Use Survey in Canada's Atlantic Provinces, an anonymous cross-sectional survey of high school students (ages 15-19 years). Adjusted regression models assessed the association between drinking frequency, experiencing alcohol-related harms, and four different sources of supply. Additional analyses stratified on levels of parental monitoring.

RESULTS

Relative to receiving alcohol from friends, parental supply was associated with lower odds of experiencing any alcohol-related harm (AOR 0.42; 95% CI 0.28-0.61) and loss of control (AOR = 0.42; 95% CI 0.29-0.62). Drinking frequency did not differ by source of supply. Associations between parental supply and harm were absent among youth reporting low levels of parental monitoring.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth who receive alcohol from parents' report fewer alcohol-related harms relative to those who obtain their alcohol from friends, despite no observed differences in drinking frequency. Understanding how parents may help to minimize experiences of alcohol-related harm among youth beyond the simple promotion of abstinence from drinking is warranted.

Parental monitoring protects against the effects of parent and adolescent depressed mood on adolescent drinking

OBJECTIVE

Parental monitoring is a well-established protective factor for adolescent drinking. This study examined whether parental monitoring protected against three common risk factors for alcohol use in a sample of high-risk adolescents: parental depressed mood, adolescent depressed mood, and parental alcohol use.

METHODS

Participants included 117 adolescents (mean age=15.5; 52% female) who presented to the hospital emergency department due to an alcohol-related event and their primary parent/guardian. Adolescents completed self-report measures of alcohol use frequency, depressed mood, and parental monitoring, while parents completed self-report measures of problematic alcohol use and depressed mood.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression confirmed that parental monitoring was associated with lower frequency of adolescent alcohol use, even after controlling for the three risk factors. Significant interactions were found between parental monitoring and both adolescent and parental depressed mood. Parental monitoring had significant protective effects against drinking frequency among adolescents with higher levels of depressed mood, but not among adolescents with lower levels of depressed mood. By contrast, parental monitoring only had protective effects among those parents with lower levels of depressed mood. Parental problematic alcohol use did not affect the relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that adolescents with high levels of depressed mood may be more likely to benefit from parental monitoring, whereas parents with high levels of depressed mood may be less likely to monitor effectively. Interventions targeting parental monitoring in high-risk adolescents should take into account the influence of both adolescent and parental depressed mood.

Parental Monitoring Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Associations With Sexual Activity and HIV-Related Sexual Risk Behaviors

PURPOSE

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are at disproportionate risk for HIV infection. Parental monitoring is protective against adolescent sexual risk behavior among heterosexual adolescents, yet it is unclear whether these findings generalize to YMSM. YMSM experience unique family dynamics during adolescence, including coming out to parents and parental rejection of sexual orientation. The present study examined how theoretically derived parental monitoring constructs were associated with sexual activity and sexual risk behaviors among YMSM.

METHODS

YMSM aged 14-18 years completed a cross-sectional online survey (n = 646). Factor analysis was completed to determine factor structure of monitoring measure. Sexual behaviors were predicted from monitoring constructs and covariates within regression models.

RESULTS

Parental knowledge and adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, parental control, and adolescent secret-keeping emerged as four distinct monitoring constructs among YMSM. Higher knowledge and disclosure (b = -.32, p = .022), higher control (b = -.28, p = .006), lower solicitation (b = .31, p = .008), and lower secret-keeping (b = .25, p = .015) were associated with lower odds of sexual activity with males in the past 6 months. Higher knowledge and disclosure (b = -.12, p = .016), higher control (b = -.08, p = .039), and lower secret-keeping (b = .11, p = .005) were associated with having fewer recent sexual partners. Monitoring constructs were unassociated with condomless anal intercourse instances among sexually active YMSM.

CONCLUSIONS

YMSM disclosure is closely tied with parental knowledge, and parents should foster relationships and home environments where YMSM are comfortable disclosing information freely. Effective parental monitoring could limit YMSM's opportunities for sexual activity, but monitoring is not sufficient to protect against HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among sexually active YMSM.

Constructing tailored parental monitoring strategy profiles to predict adolescent disclosure and risk involvement

•

Many parents use multiple monitoring strategies in different combinations over time to monitor their adolescents.

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Adolescents of parents who use multiple strategies reported greater risk involvement.

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Parents who solicited information only from adolescents had greater knowledge and adolescent disclosure.

The interplay of parental monitoring and socioeconomic status in predicting minor delinquency between and within adolescents

This six-wave multi-informant longitudinal study on Dutch adolescents (N = 824; age 12-18) examined the interplay of socioeconomic status with parental monitoring in predicting minor delinquency. Fixed-effects negative binomial regression analyses revealed that this interplay is different within adolescents across time than between adolescents. Between individuals, parental solicitation and control were not significantly associated with delinquency after controlling for SES: Adolescents whose parents exercised more monitoring did not offend less than others. Within individuals, higher levels of parental control were unexpectedly associated with more delinquency, but this relation was dependent on SES: Low-SES adolescents, but not high-SES adolescents, offended more during periods in which their parents exercised more control than during other periods with less control. In contrast to earlier work, this finding suggests that monitoring could be least effective when needed most. Low-SES parents might not use monitoring effectively and become overcontrolling when their child goes astray.

Gender Differences in Relations among Perceived Family Characteristics and Risky Health Behaviors in Urban Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Research regarding the role of gender in relations between family characteristics and health risk behaviors has been limited.

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate gender differences in associations between family processes and risk-taking in adolescents.

METHODS

Adolescents (N = 249; mean age = 14.5 years) starting their first year at an urban high school in the northeastern USA completed self-report measures that assessed family characteristics (i.e., parental monitoring, family social support, family conflict) and health behaviors (i.e., tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, sex initiation) as part of a prospective, community-based study. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate gender differences in associations between the family characteristics and health behaviors.

RESULTS

Among males, higher levels of perceived parental monitoring were associated with lower odds of using tobacco and having ever engaged in sex. Among females, higher levels of perceived parental monitoring were associated with lower odds of marijuana use, alcohol use, and having ever engaged in sex. However, in contrast to males, among females (a) higher levels of perceived family social support were associated with lower odds of alcohol use and having ever engaged in sex and (b) higher levels of perceived family conflict were associated with higher odds of marijuana use and having ever engaged in sex.

CONCLUSION

Family processes were more strongly related to health behaviors among adolescent females than adolescent males. Interventions that increase parental monitoring and family social support as well as decrease family conflict may help to protect against adolescent risk taking, especially for females.

Delay discounting and parental monitoring in adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes

In a sample of adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes, this study examined if delay discounting, the extent to which individuals prefer immediate over delayed rewards, was associated with severity of non-adherence and poor glycemic control, and if parental monitoring of diabetes management moderated those associations. Sixty-one adolescents (M _age = 15.08 years, SD 1.43) with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes completed a delayed discounting task and an HbA1c blood test. Adherence was assessed via self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) data from adolescents' glucometers. Parents completed a parental monitoring questionnaire. Greater delay discounting was associated with higher HbA1c, but not SMBG. Direct parent observation of diabetes tasks, but not indirect parental monitoring, moderated the link between greater delay discounting and higher HbA1c, with higher direct parent observation buffering the link between greater discounting and poorer glycemic control. Delay discounting may be a target for future interventions to improve HbA1c in youth with type 1 diabetes.