Alcohol-specific parenting, adolescent alcohol use and the mediating effect of adolescent alcohol-related cognitions

Rules, role models or overall climate at home? Relative associations of different family aspects with adolescents' problematic social media use

AIM

This study aimed to enhance knowledge on which aspects of the family context are most relevant in identifying at-risk/problematic social media users among adolescents. Therefore, we examined the relative contribution to adolescents' at-risk/problematic social media use (SMU) of general and Internet-specific family factors related to three different family (sub)systems: parent-child (Internet-specific rule-setting, reactive restrictions towards Internet use, co-use, adolescents' involvement in rule-setting and positive parenting), parent (parental screen time, phubbing, stress, anxiety and depression) and family (family functioning, family intactness and SES) (sub)system.

METHODS

Questionnaire data came from 403 adolescents (M = 13.51, SD = 2.15) and 396 parents (M = 46.59, SD = 5.29) who participated in wave 1 of the Dutch 'Digital Family project'.

RESULTS

Logistic regression analyses showed that only factors related to the parent-child subsystem remained significant in predicting being an at-risk/problematic social media user when examining predictors related to the parent-child, parent and family (sub)system simultaneously. Specifically, general and Internet-specific parenting practices contributed to the prediction above and beyond each other. Positive parenting and Internet-specific rule-setting seem protective, while parental reactive restrictions towards Internet use could be a risk factor. Positive parenting showed the largest effect size.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that parental behaviors directed towards the child should be a focus of attention in prevention of adolescents' problematic SMU. In addition, our findings highlight the importance of untangling restrictive mediation (impulsive, in the moment, attempts to limit SMU versus communicating clear rules in advance) when examining its effects.

Trends in substance use and prevention education involvement among U.S. adolescents receiving public assistance: new evidence

PURPOSE

The present study aimed to examine the substance use prevention education involvement in different social settings among adolescents receiving public assistance-cash or food voucher-for low household income (heretofore, "PA program enrollees") and preventive effects of each prevention educational setting on current substance use.

METHODS

Using data from a nationally-representative sample of PA program enrollees from the 2002-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, we estimated the prevalence of substance use prevention education involvement in home, school, and neighborhood settings and the associations between involvement in each educational setting and current alcohol/illicit drug use.

RESULTS

Compared to nonenrollees, PA program enrollees reported significantly lower rates of involvement in all prevention education settings, including parent-child conversations (54.6% vs. 60.1%) and neighborhood prevention resources (71.3% vs. 79.3%). All educational setting were associated with lower odds of current substance use, with the largest effects found for parent-child conversations (AOR = 0.821 [P < .001] for alcohol use; AOR = 0.817 [P < .001] for illicit drug use).

CONCLUSIONS

To reduce the elevated risk of illicit drug use among PA program enrollees, special attention needs to be paid to promote parent-child conversation about substance use and increase access to prevention education in regular classes and preventive messages outside schools.

Automatic cognitions as mediators of parental influence on adolescent cannabis use

AIMS

Multiple social influences affect cannabis use in adolescents, including parental and peer cannabis use norms. However, the mechanisms of influence underlying these social influences remain unclear. Recent studies have suggested that cognitions about cannabis use and the effects of cannabis may mediate social influences. The current study explored the relationship between automatic self-generated cognitions and their relationship with parental influences on cannabis use in a sample of n = 675 11 to 16-year-old adolescents over three years (Mean Age: 13.96, SD = 0.88, 56.4% female).

METHODS

Participants reported perceptions of parental cannabis use and completed a cannabis word association task (CWAT), an open-ended cannabis outcome expectancy liking (COEL) task, and measures of cannabis use in the past year.

RESULTS

Perceived parental use did not directly predict cannabis use two years later. However, a latent construct loading on both CWAT and COEL scores strongly predicted cannabis use over the following year. Structural modelling demonstrated that the association between previous cannabis use and parental cannabis use and adolescents' cannabis use over the next two years was fully mediated by cognitions.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study are discussed and interpreted through the lens of dual-process theories.

Sleep Quantity and Problems as Mediators of the Eveningness-Adjustment Link during Childhood and Adolescence

Chronotype, or morningness/eveningness, has been associated with adjustment in both children and adolescents. Specifically, eveningness has been linked to adjustment difficulties; however, the mechanism underlying this association is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to test whether the associations between eveningness and adjustment difficulties could be explained by an unfavorable impact of eveningness on sleep. Links from chronotype to internalizing problems and problem behaviors via sleep quantity and sleep problems were tested in a sample from the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (N = 3485; 48.8% female), both when the participants were children (7 years at T1, 11 at T2) and when they were adolescents (15 years at T1, 18 at T2). The findings provided evidence that eveningness predicted greater sleep problems and lower sleep quantity; however, only sleep problems predicted internalizing problems and problem behaviors. Sleep quantity did not mediate the eveningness-adjustment link, and sleep problems did so only in children. The findings show that sleep problems appear to be more important in explaining the eveningness-adjustment link rather than altered sleep quantity, commonly associated with eveningness.

Frequency of Parent-Adolescent Alcohol-Specific Communication and Adolescent Perceptions of Alcohol

To better understand the optimal frequency of parent-adolescent alcohol-specific communication, we conducted a secondary analysis of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Culture of High School Survey, a 2010 nationally representative online survey of 1000 high school students. Logistic regression models assessed the relationship between alcohol-specific communication and adolescent perceptions ( binge drinking is very dangerous, drinking is cool, and getting drunk is very dangerous), adjusting for grade, sex, race, personal and peer alcohol use, and parental monitoring. Among adolescents reporting personal and peer alcohol use, a dose-response relationship existed between frequency of alcohol-specific communication and thinking binge drinking is very dangerous (often [adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 7.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.98-21.36], sometimes (AOR = 6.08; 95% CI = 2.36-15.69), rarely (AOR = 5.27; 95% CI = 1.95-14.26) vs never), and was also associated with decreased perceptions that drinking is cool (often [AOR = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.08-0.66), rarely vs never [AOR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.06-0.51]); the inverse was true for never-drinkers without peer use.

Media/Marketing Influences on Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Abuse

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We describe the state of research on substance use portrayals in marketing and media, considering exposure to tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarette, and marijuana content. Putative mechanisms are offered, and recommendations made for effective prevention strategies for mitigating the influence of these portrayals.

RECENT FINDINGS

There is consistent evidence that adolescents and young adults are highly exposed to substance use portrayals and that these portrayals are associated with subsequent substance use. Exposure via new media (social networking sites, brand websites) has risen rapidly. Social norms and cognitions appear to at least partially account for the effects of portrayals on youth substance use.

SUMMARY

Digital media has surpassed traditional marketing, which is concerning because youth have on-demand access to content and are active consumers of digital media. Developmentally appropriate media literacy interventions that include a parenting component and target multiple substances and media domains are recommended.

School District Variation in Parental Influence on Underage Drinking Behaviors

PURPOSE

We examined the relationship between alcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental characteristics with occasional alcohol drinking in early adolescence and probed potential school district variation.

METHODS

A total of 1,581 fourth and sixth graders (age range: 10-12 years) were ascertained from 17 elementary schools in a cohort study conducted in northern Taiwan in 2006, with three waves of follow-up between 2007 and 2009. Information on alcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental attributes was obtained from the first two waves of self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires; occasional drinking, defined by having drunk on three or more occasions in the past year, was assessed at fourth wave. School district characteristics were retrieved from official statistics and self-report. Multilevel analyses were used to evaluate strength of association, with stratification by disadvantaged status of school districts.

RESULTS

Thirteen percent (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.1%-15.8%) of young adolescents reported to drink occasionally; higher grade level, childhood drinking experience, lower parental education, maternal drinking, and positive parental attitude toward drinking were significant predictors. Nonalcohol parental predictors, including not living with both parents (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.21-4.53) and parental involvement/reinforcement (aOR = .44; 95% CI = .22-.87), were only significant for the children of socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts. As to alcohol-specific parental characteristics, the effects of maternal drinking appear more salient in socioeconomically advantaged school districts (aOR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.66-4.18).

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental influence may operate differentially across school districts sub-grouped by socioeconomic attributes. Preventive strategies raising the awareness of underage drinking and strengthening parenting skills should be devised and implemented in the perspective of social context.

Harsh Parenting, Deviant Peers, Adolescent Risky Behavior: Understanding the Meditational Effect of Attitudes and Intentions

Although research supports the influence of parents and peers on adolescent risky behavior, less is known about mechanisms proposed to explain this relation. This study examined the influence of adolescent attitudes and intentions about such behaviors. Prospective, longitudinal data came from rural youth who participated throughout adolescence (n= 451). Observed harsh parenting and relationship with deviant peers was assessed in early adolescence, attitudes and intentions were measured during middle adolescence, and risky behavior was assessed in late adolescence. Results indicated that parenting and deviant peers was related to engagement in tobacco use, alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors. Moreover, attitudes and intentions mediated this relationship even after parent use and adolescent early involvement in these behaviors were taken into account.