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Parent substance use as a predictor of adolescent use: A six-year lagged analysis

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of parental use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana on lagged changes in the specific substance use of their adolescent offspring over a six-year period. The analyses also examined the relative influence of mothers and fathers and their interaction as moderated by marital status and age and gender of the adolescent. A generalized estimating equations approach, analogous to quasi-like-lihood, was employed to estimate regression coefficients via an iterative weighted least squares algorithm. Findings indicated that, when employed as time-varying covariates, parental substance use resulted in substance-specific effects on fluctuations in the adolescent’s own use. Age, parent marital status, and each parent’s marijuana use independently were jound to significantly affect adolescent marijuana use. In contrast, the complex relationship between parent and adolescent use of alcohol and cigarettes showed variation by substance, age, and gender of both parents and adolescents. Within a developmental context, the results suggest that parent use of substances must be considered risk factors with particular effects on their younger offspring. Thus, prevention efforts should be directed at middle childhood and include components aimed at parents as well as their children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Research Institute, 1715 Franklin Boulevard, 97403, Eugene, OR

    Hyman Hops, Terry E. Duncan & Susan C. Duncan

  2. Oregon Social Learning Center, Oregon, USA

    Michael Stoolmiller

Authors
  1. Hyman Hops
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  2. Terry E. Duncan
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  3. Susan C. Duncan
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  4. Michael Stoolmiller
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Additional information

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant No. DA 03706 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

An earlier version of this study was presented at the Fourteenth Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, March, 1993.

The authors wish to thank Beth Sankis, Diannah Anavir, and Peggi Rodgers for their contributions in the preparation of this manuscript.

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Hops, H., Duncan, T.E., Duncan, S.C. et al. Parent substance use as a predictor of adolescent use: A six-year lagged analysis. Ann Behav Med 18, 157–164 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02883392

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