Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Developmental Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence and Harmful Drinking in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Peers and Parents

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Depressive symptoms have been linked to the development of harmful drinking in adolescence but it remains unclear to what extent this effect continues into emerging adulthood. Deviant peers represent a risk factor while parental monitoring is a protective factor for harmful drinking. The study explored the relationship between depressive symptoms and harmful drinking between early adolescence and emerging adulthood. We also assessed to what extent this relationship is mediated by the influence of deviant peers and whether parental monitoring weakens this process. The sample consisted of 2964 adolescents (64 % females) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children study assessed between the ages of 14 and 19. Using structural equation modelling, we found that affiliation with deviant peers mediated the association between depressive symptoms and harmful drinking after adjustment for socio-demographic variables, parental drinking and depression, teenager’s sex, conduct problems as well as drinking and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. We also found that parental control and solicitation reduced the influence of deviant peers on harmful drinking. The results indicate that prevention programs should offer adolescents training for peer resistance training and monitoring skills training for parents may have a long-term effect at weakening peer influences on harmful drinking.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ALSPAC. (2012). http://www.bris.ac.uk/alspac/researchers/data-access/data-dictionary/ (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6HTBgPiAd). Department of Social Medicine, Bristol University, Bristol.

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., Messer, S. C., Pickles, A., Winder, F., & Silver, D. (1995). Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 5(4), 237–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Erkanli, A., Silberg, J., Eaves, L., & Costello, E. J. (2002). Depression scale scores in 8–17-year-olds: Effects of age and gender. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(8), 1052–1063.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2005). The developmental context of substance use in emerging adulthood. Journal of Drug Issues, 35(2), 235–254. doi:10.1177/002204260503500202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aseltine, R. H, Jr. (1995). A reconsideration of parental and peer influences on adolescent deviance. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36(2), 103–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Babor, T., Higgins-Biddle, J., Saunders, J., & Monteiro, M. (2001). The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for ase in primary care (2nd ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bahr, S. J., Hoffmann, J. P., & Yang, X. (2005). Parental and peer influences on the risk of adolescent drug use. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 26(6), 529–551. doi:10.1007/s10935-005-0014-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bekman, N. M., Cummins, K., & Brown, S. A. (2010). Affective and personality risk and cognitive mediators of initial adolescent alcohol use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 71(4), 570–580.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, A., Golding, J., Macleod, J., Lawlor, D. A., Fraser, A., Henderson, J., et al. (2013). Cohort profile: The ‘children of the 90s’—the index offspring of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. International Journal of Epidemiology, 42(1), 111–127. doi:10.1093/ije/dys064.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bucholz, K. K., Cadoret, R., Cloninger, C. R., Dinwiddie, S. H., Hesselbrock, V. M., Nurnberger, J. I, Jr, et al. (1994). A new, semi-structured psychiatric interview for use in genetic linkage studies: A report on the reliability of the SSAGA. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55(2), 149–158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 464–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, T., Colby, S. M., Barnett, N. P., & Monti, P. M. (2002). Alcohol use disorders identification test: Factor structure in an adolescent emergency department sample. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(2), 223–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coie, J., Terry, R., Lenox, K., Lochman, J., & Hyman, C. (1995). Childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of stable patterns of adolescent disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 7(04), 697–713. doi:10.1017/S0954579400006799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112(4), 558–577. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.112.4.558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeVore, E. R., & Ginsburg, K. R. (2005). The protective effects of good parenting on adolescents. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 17(4), 460–465.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doumen, S., Smits, I., Luyckx, K., Duriez, B., Vanhalst, J., Verschueren, K., & Goossens, L. (2012). Identity and perceived peer relationship quality in emerging adulthood: The mediating role of attachment-related emotions. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1417–1425. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.01.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elousa, P. (2011). Assessing measurement equivalence in ordered-categorical data. Psicologica: International Journal of Methodology and Experimental Psychology, 32, 403–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faggiano, F., Vigna-Taglianti, F., Burkhart, G., Bohrn, K., Cuomo, L., Gregori, D., et al. (2010). The effectiveness of a school-based substance abuse prevention program: 18-Month follow-up of the EU-Dap cluster randomized controlled trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 108(1–2), 56–64. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.11.018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (1999). Prospective childhood predictors of deviant peer affiliations in adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(4), 581–592.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, A. C., Steinberg, L., & Williams-Wheeler, M. (2004). Parental influences on adolescent problem behavior: Revisiting Stattin and Kerr. Child Development, 75(3), 781–796. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00706.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, E. (2012). Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2011. London: Health and Social Care Information Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giannakopoulos, G., Tzavara, C., Dimitrakaki, C., Kolaitis, G., Rotsika, V., & Tountas, Y. (2009). The factor structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Greek adolescents. Annals of General Psychiatry, 8, 20. doi:10.1186/1744-859X-8-20.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Golding, J., Pembrey, M., & Jones, R. (2001). ALSPAC: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. I. Study methodology. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 15(1), 74–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581–586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heron, J., Macleod, J., Munafo, M. R., Melotti, R., Lewis, G., Tilling, K., & Hickman, M. (2012). Patterns of alcohol use in early adolescence predict problem use at age 16. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 47(2), 169–177. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agr156.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hingson, R. W., Zha, W., & Weitzman, E. R. (2009). Magnitude of and trends in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18–24, 1998–2005. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Suppl. 16, 12–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • HSCIC. (2013). Statistics on alcohol: England, 2013 (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6J5KIyHy5)

  • Kandel, D. B. (1983). Drug and drinking behavior among youth. Psychiatrie De L Enfant, 26(2), 565–629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendler, K. S., Myers, J., & Dick, D. (2015). The stability and predictors of peer group deviance in university students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. doi:10.1007/s00127-015-1031-4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2000). What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental Psychology, 36(3), 366–380. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.36.3.366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kiesner, J., Poulin, F., & Dishion, T. J. (2010). Adolescent substance use with friends: Moderating and mediating effects of parental monitoring and peer activity contexts. Merrill Palmer Quarterly (Wayne State University Press), 56(4), 529–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laird, R. D., Jordan, K. Y., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2001). Peer rejection in childhood, involvement with antisocial peers in early adolescence, and the development of externalizing behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 13(2), 337–354.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Stanton, B., & Feigelman, S. (2000). Impact of perceived parental monitoring on adolescent risk behavior over 4 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27(1), 49–56. doi:10.1016/S1054-139X(00)00092-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 83–104.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marmorstein, N. R. (2009). Longitudinal associations between alcohol problems and depressive symptoms: Early adolescence through early adulthood. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(1), 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marmorstein, N. R. (2010). Longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and alcohol problems: The influence of comorbid delinquent behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 35(6), 564–571.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, W. A., Hitchings, J. E., & Spoth, R. L. (2008). The interaction of conduct problems and depressed mood in relation to adolescent substance involvement and peer substance use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 96(3), 233–248. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.03.012.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCambridge, J., McAlaney, J., & Rowe, R. (2011). Adult consequences of late adolescent alcohol consumption: A systematic review of cohort studies. PLOS Medicine, 8(2), e1000413. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000413.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melotti, R., Heron, J., Hickman, M., Macleod, J., Araya, R., & Lewis, G. (2011). Adolescent alcohol and tobacco use and early socioeconomic position: The ALSPAC birth cohort. Pediatrics, 127(4), e948–e955. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3450.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Monahan, K. C., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2009). Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 45(6), 1520–1530. doi:10.1037/a0017417.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., Muthén, B. O. (1998–2011). Mplus User’s Guide. Sixth Edition. Muthén & Muthén, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Osgood, D. W., Feinberg, M. E., Gest, S. D., Moody, J., Ragan, D. T., Spoth, R., et al. (2013a). Effects of PROSPER on the influence potential of prosocial versus antisocial youth in adolescent friendship networks. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(2), 174–179. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.013.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., Ragan, D. T., Wallace, L., Gest, S. D., Feinberg, M. E., & Moody, J. (2013b). Peers and the emergence of alcohol use: Influence and selection processes in adolescent friendship networks. Journal of Research on Adolescence. doi:10.1111/jora.12059.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parra, G. R., Krull, J. L., Sher, K. J., & Jackson, K. M. (2007). Frequency of heavy drinking and perceived peer alcohol involvement: Comparison of influence and selection mechanisms from a developmental perspective. Addictive Behaviors, 32(10), 2211–2225. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.02.013.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pesola, F., Shelton, K. H., Heron, J., Munafo, M., Maughan, B., Hickman, M., & van den Bree, M. B. (2015). The mediating role of deviant peers on the link between depressed mood and harmful drinking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), 153–159. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.10.268.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rucker, D. D., Preacher, K. J., Tormala, Z. L., & Petty, R. E. (2011). Mediation analysis in social psychology: Current practices and new recommendations. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(6), 359–371. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00355.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saraceno, L., Heron, J., Munafo, M., Craddock, N., & van den Bree, M. B. (2012). The relationship between childhood depressive symptoms and problem alcohol use in early adolescence: Findings from a large longitudinal population-based study. Addiction, 107(3), 567–577. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03662.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saraceno, L., Munafo, M., Heron, J., Craddock, N., & van den Bree, M. B. (2009). Genetic and non-genetic influences on the development of co-occurring alcohol problem use and internalizing symptomatology in adolescence: A review. Addiction, 104(7), 1100–1121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schreiber, J. B., Nora, A., Stage, F. K., Barlow, E. A., & King, J. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. Journal of Educational Research, 99(6), 323–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Melby, J. N. (1991). The effect of social skills, values, peers, and depression on adolescent substance use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(4), 466–481. doi:10.1177/0272431691114005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons-Morton, B., & Chen, R. (2005). Latent growth curve analyses of parent influences on drinking progression among early adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 66(1), 5–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D., & McVie, S. (2003). Theory and method in the Edinburgh study of youth transitions and crime. British Journal of Criminology, 4, 169–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4), 1072–1085. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D. S., & Thapar, A. K. (2012). Depression in adolescence. Lancet, 379(9820), 1056–1067. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60871-4.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tilton-Weaver, L. C., Burk, W. J., Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2013). Can parental monitoring and peer management reduce the selection or influence of delinquent peers? Testing the question using a dynamic social network approach. Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2057–2070. doi:10.1037/a0031854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van den Bree, M. B., & Pickworth, W. B. (2005). Risk factors predicting changes in marijuana involvement in teenagers. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(3), 311–319. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.3.311.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Leeuwen, K., Meerschaert, T., Bosmans, G., De Medts, L., & Braet, C. (2006). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community sample of young children in Flanders. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22(3), 189–197. doi:10.1027/1015-5759.22.3.189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Ryzin, M. J., Fosco, G. M., & Dishion, T. J. (2012). Family and peer predictors of substance use from early adolescence to early adulthood: An 11-year prospective analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 37(12), 1314–1324. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.06.020.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, I. R., Royston, P., & Wood, A. M. (2011). Multiple imputation using chained equations: Issues and guidance for practice. Statistics in Medicine, 30(4), 377–399. doi:10.1002/sim.4067.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, M. D., Read, J. P., Mitchell, R. E., & Brand, N. H. (2004). Do parents still matter? Parent and peer influences on alcohol involvement among recent high school graduates. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(1), 19–30. doi:10.1037/0893-164x.18.1.19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • You, S., Furlong, M. J., Felix, E., Sharkey, J. D., Tanigawa, D., & Green, J. G. (2008). Relations among school connectedness, hope, life satisfaction, and bully victimization. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 446–460. doi:10.1002/pits.20308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, A. F., Powers, J. R., & Bell, S. L. (2006). Attrition in longitudinal studies: Who do you lose? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 30(4), 353–361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are extremely thankful to the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting, and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Grant Ref: 092731) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors and Francesca Pesola and Marianne van den Bree will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. This research was funded by The European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB; ref: EA 10 08) and the Mental Health Research Network Cymru [ref: VANM/010410(36)].

Author contributions

FP participated in the study design, performed the statistical analyses and wrote and revised the manuscript; KS participated in the study design, participated in the interpretation of the data, and drafting the manuscript; JH participated in the study design and provided statistical advice; MM participated in the study design; MH was involved in the study design; MvdB is the Principal Investigator of the ERAB project, obtained the grant funding, conceived the study design, and helped draft the manuscript and interpret the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK

    Francesca Pesola

  2. School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK

    Katherine H. Shelton

  3. School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK

    Jon Heron & Matthew Hickman

  4. MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK

    Marcus Munafò

  5. UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK

    Marcus Munafò

  6. Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK

    Marianne B. M. van den Bree

Authors
  1. Francesca Pesola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katherine H. Shelton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jon Heron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Marcus Munafò
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Matthew Hickman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Marianne B. M. van den Bree
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Francesca Pesola or Marianne B. M. van den Bree.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 7.

Table 7 Items used to define each latent variable
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pesola, F., Shelton, K.H., Heron, J. et al. The Developmental Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence and Harmful Drinking in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Peers and Parents. J Youth Adolescence 44, 1752–1766 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0295-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0295-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation