Prevention Science

, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp 75–89 | Cite as

Mediators and Moderators of Parental Involvement on Substance Use: A National Study of Adolescents

  • Colleen C. Pilgrim
  • John E. Schulenberg
  • Patrick M. O’Malley
  • Jerald G. Bachman
  • Lloyd D. Johnston
Original Article
First Online:

Current social developmental theories of drug use often incorporate mediation processes, but it is generally unknown whether these mediation processes generalize across ethnicity and gender. In the present study, we developed a mediation model of substance use based on current theory and research and then tested the extent to which the model was moderated by gender and ethnicity (African American, European American, and Hispanic American), separately for 8th and 10th graders. The respondents were adolescents from the 1994, 1995, and 1996 cohorts of the Monitoring the Future (MTF) project, which conducts yearly in-school surveys with nationally representative samples. Multi-group, structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated much similarity across gender and ethnicity for school success and time spent with friends as partial mediators of risk taking and parental involvement on drug use (controlling for parental education). However, there were some differences in the magnitude of indirect effects of parental involvement and risk taking on substance use for 8th-grade African American girls. Discussion focuses on the potential success of prevention efforts across different ethnicities and gender that target parent–child relationship improvement and risk taking, and considers possible culture- and gender-specific issues.

KEY WORDS:

substance use adolescents ethnicity parental involvement 

REFERENCES

  1. Alwin, D. F. (1988). Measurement and the interpretation of effects in structural equation models. In J. S. Long (Ed.), Common problems/proper solutions avoiding error in quantitative research (pp. 15–45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  2. Avenevoli, S., Sessa, F. M., & Steinberg, L. (1999). Family structure, parenting practices, and adolescent adjustment: An ecological examination. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 65–90). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
  3. Bachman, J. G., Johnston, L. D., & O'Malley, P. M. (2001). The Monitoring the Future project after 27 years: Design and procedures. (Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper No. 54). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
  4. Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
  5. Bray, J. H., Adams, G. J., Getz, J. G., & Baer, P. E. (2001). Developmental, family, and ethnic influences on adolescent alcohol usage: A growth curve approach. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 301–314.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Brook, J. S., Whiteman, M., Balka, E. B., Win, P. T., & Gursen, M. D. (1997). African-American and Puerto Rican drug use: A longitudinal study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1260–1268.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Brooks-Gunn, J., Phelps, E., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (1991). Studying lives through time: Secondary data analyses in developmental psychology. Developmental Psychology, 27, 899–910.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Bryant, A. L., Schulenberg, J., Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., & Johnston, L. D. (2000). Understanding the links among school misbehavior, academic achievement, and cigarette use: A national panel study of adolescents. Prevention Science, 1, 71–87.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Castro, F. G., & Hernandez, E. (2002). Integrating cultural variables into drug abuse prevention and treatment with racial/ethnic minorities. Journal of Drug Issues, 32(3), 783–810.Google Scholar
  10. Costa, F. M., Jessor, R., & Turbin, M. S. (1999). Transition into adolescent problem drinking: The role of psychosocial risk and protective factors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60, 480–490.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Crawford, A. M., Pentz, M. A., Chou, C., Li, C., & Dwyer, J. H. (2003). Parallel developmental trajectories of sensation seeking and regular substance use in adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 179–192.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Delva, J., Wallace, J. M., Jr., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Johnston, L. D., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2005). The epidemiology of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use among Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and other Latin American eighth-grade students in the United States: 1991–2002. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 696–702.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Erickson, K. G., Crosnoe, R., & Dornbusch, S. M. (2000). A social process model of adolescent deviance: Combining social control and differential perspectives. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 395–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Flannery, D. J., Vazsonyi, A. T., & Rowe, D. C. (1996). Caucasian and Hispanic early drug use: Parenting, personality, and school adjustment. Journal of Early Adolescence, 16, 71–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Gottfredson, D. C., & Koper, C. S. (1997). Race and sex differences in the measurement of risk for drug use. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 13, 325–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Griesler, P. C., & Kandel, D. B. (1998). Ethnic differences in correlates of adolescent cigarette smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23, 167–180.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Hargens, L. L. (1988). Estimating multi-equation models with correlated disturbance terms. In J. Scott Long (Ed.), Common problems/proper solutions: Avoiding error in quantitative research (pp. 65–83). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  18. Harris, D. (1999). Patterns and Determinants of Adolescent Racial Identity. Seminar conducted at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan.Google Scholar
  19. Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Miller, J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance use prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64–105.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Hawkins, J. D., & Weis, J. G. (1985). The social developmental model: An integrated approach to delinquency prevention. Journal of Primary Prevention, 6, 73–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Hayduk, L. A. (1987). Structural equation modeling with LISREL essentials and advances. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
  22. Herman, M. R., Dornbusch, S. M., Herron, M. C., & Hertig, J. R. (1997). The influence of family regulation, connection, and psychological autonomy on six measures of adolescent functioning. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 34–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
  24. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.Google Scholar
  25. Jacobson, K. C., & Crockett, L. J. (2000). Parental monitoring and adolescent adjustment: An ecological perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10, 65–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Jessor, R. (1998). New perspectives on adolescent risk behavior. In R. Jessor (Ed.), New perspectives on adolescent risk behavior (pp. 1–10). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  27. Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2004). National survey results on drug use from the Monitoring the Future study, 1975–2003. Volume I: Secondary school students. Volume II: College students and adults ages 19–45. (NIH Publication Nos. 04-5507 & 04-5508). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.Google Scholar
  28. Jöreskog, K. G. (1999). How large can a standardized coefficient be? Retrieved February 2, 2005, from http://www.ssicentral.com/lisrel/column2.htm.
  29. Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
  30. Kish, L. (1965). Survey sampling. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
  31. Li, X., Feigelman, S., & Stanton, B. (2000). Perceived parental monitoring and health risk behaviors among urban low-income African-American children and adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27, 43–48.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Morgan-Lopez, A. A., Castro, F. G., Chassin, L., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2003). A mediated model of cigarette use among Mexican American youth. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 583–589.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Murguia, E., Chen, Z., & Kaplan, H. B. (1998). A comparison of causal factors in drug use among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites. Social Science Quarterly, 79, 341–360.Google Scholar
  34. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research-based guide for parents, educators, and community leaders (2nd ed., Booklet NCADI #PHD1023A). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.Google Scholar
  35. Oetting, E. R., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (1998). Primary socialization theory: The etiology of drug use and deviance. I. Substance Use and Misuse, 33, 995–1026.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Osgood, D. W., Wilson, J. K., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. American Sociological Review, 61, 635–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American Psychologist, 44, 329–335.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Pilgrim, C., & Rueda-Riedle, A. (2003). The importance of social context in cross-cultural comparisons: First graders in Colombia and the United States. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163(3), 283–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Pilgrim, C., Schulenberg, J., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (2000). Mediators of parental influences on adolescent substance use: Grade, gender, and ethnic comparisons (1994–1996). (Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper No. 47). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
  40. Pilgrim, C., Abbey, A., Hendrickson, P., & Lorenz, S. (1998). Implementation and impact of a family-based substance abuse prevention program in rural communities. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 18, 341–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Pilgrim, C., Luo, Q., Urberg, K. A., & Fang, X. (1999). Influence of peers, parents, and individual characteristics on adolescent drug use in two cultures. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 85–107.Google Scholar
  42. Reifman, A., Barnes, G. M., Dintcheff, B. A., Uhteg, L., & Farrell, M. P. (2001). Health values buffer social-environmental risks for adolescent alcohol misuse. Addictive Behaviors, 15, 249–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Roski, J., Perry, C. L., McGovern, P. G., Veblen-Mortenson, S., & Farbakhsh, K. (1997). Psychosocial factors associated with alcohol use among young adolescent American Indians and Whites. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 7, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Rowe, D. C., Vazsonyi, A. T., & Flannery, D. J. (1994). No more than skin deep: Ethnic and racial similarity in developmental processes. Psychological Review, 101, 396–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Schulenberg, J., Maggs, J. L., Steinman, K., & Zucker, R. A. (2001). Development matters: Taking the long view on substance abuse etiology and intervention during adolescence. In P. M. Monti, S. M. Colby, & T. A. O'Leary (Eds.), Adolescents, alcohol, and substance abuse: Reaching teens through brief intervention (pp. 19–57). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
  46. Schulenberg, J., Wadsworth, K. N., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Adolescent risk factors for binge drinking during the transition to young adulthood: Variable- and pattern-centered approaches to change. Developmental Psychology, 32, 659–674.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Strait, S. C. (1999). Drug use among Hispanic youth: Examining common and unique contributing factors. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21, 89–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2002). 2002 Science-Based Prevention Programs and Principles. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved May 11, 2005 from http://www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov.Google Scholar
  49. Swaim, R. C., Bates, S. C., & Chavez, E. L. (1998). Structural equation socialization model of substance use among Mexican-American and White non-Hispanic school dropouts. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23, 128–138.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Thornberry, T. P. (1987). Toward an interaction theory of delinquency. Criminology, 25, 851–891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Vega, W. A., Zimmerman, R. S., Warheit, G. J., Apospori, E., & Gil, A. G. (1998). Risk factors for early adolescent drug use in four ethnic and racial groups. In P. B. Organista, K. M. Chun, & G. Marín (Eds.), Readings in ethnic psychology (pp. 178–187). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  52. Wallace, J. M., Jr., Brown, T. N., Bachman, J. G., & LaVeist, T. A. (2003). The influence of race and religion on abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana among adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64(6), 843–848.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  53. Wang, G. T., Bahr, S. J., & Marcos, A. C. (1995). Family bonds and adolescent substance use: An ethnic group comparison. In C. K. Jacobson (Ed.), American families: Issues in race and ethnicity (pp. 463–492). New York: Garland Publishing.Google Scholar
  54. Wills, T. A., Resko, J. A., Ainette, M. G., & Mendoza, D. (2004). Role of parent support and peer support in adolescent substance use: A test of mediated effects. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18, 122–134.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Society of Prevention Research 2005

Authors and Affiliations

  • Colleen C. Pilgrim
    • 1
    • 2
  • John E. Schulenberg
    • 1
  • Patrick M. O’Malley
    • 1
  • Jerald G. Bachman
    • 1
  • Lloyd D. Johnston
    • 1
  1. 1.Institute for Social ResearchUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborU.S.
  2. 2.Survey Research Center, Institute for Social ResearchUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborU.S.

Personalised recommendations