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

ObjectiveParental 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.MethodsParticipants 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.ResultsHierarchical 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.ConclusionsOur 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.     

Alcohol consumption among rural African American and White adolescents: The role of religion,parents, and peers

Although studies have examined ethnic differences in psychosocial factors and adolescent alcohol use, most have not examined these relationships for rural adolescents. The Community Drug and Alcohol Survey (CDAS) was completed by 23,163 rural adolescents attending African American secondary schools. Multilevel analysis tested the hypothesis of stronger relationships of peer use and religiosity with alcohol use and a weaker relationship for parental permissiveness and alcohol use for White compared to African American adolescents. Results suggested that peer use, religiosity, and parental permissiveness were more strongly associated with changes in alcohol use for White adolescents. Findings provide insight for alcohol prevention among rural adolescents.     

Parental monitoring,peer activities and alcohol use: A study based on data on Swedish adolescents

Aim: This study investigates the association between two types of social relations during leisure time (to parents and peers) and the frequency of alcohol use among Swedish adolescents, taking possible interaction effects into account.

Methods: The data were collected during the 1995–2005 time period by using a questionnaire handed out in the class room. The study includes about 10,000 Swedish adolescents aged 15–16 years.

Results: The results show that there are strong associations between the social relations adolescents have during leisure time (both to parents and peers) and the frequency of alcohol use. High levels of peer activity were associated with higher frequencies of alcohol use. Although the effects of relations with parents were modified by peer activity frequencies, high levels of parental monitoring were significantly associated with lower frequencies of alcohol use, regardless of the peer activity frequencies.

Conclusions: Parental monitoring is an efficient way to prevent or reduce adolescents’ alcohol use, although its importance may vary due to peer activity frequency.     

Factors affecting parental supply of alcohol to underage adolescents

Introduction and Aims. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which parent and adolescent characteristics predict parental supply of full serves of alcohol (i.e. not simply sips) to their adolescent aged 14–16 years. Design and Methods. In 2009, a cross‐sectional sample of 388 parents from Victoria, Australia was surveyed. Results. Of the 70% of parents who believed that their adolescent currently drinks, 37% reported supplying their underage adolescent with more than a sip of alcohol in the last 3 months. Alcohol supply was significantly associated with parents' perceptions that their adolescent drinks, odds ratio 1.87 (95% confidence interval 1.38–2.53) and higher levels of parental monitoring, odds ratio 1.44 (95% confidence interval 1.10–1.94) but not significantly associated with parent/adolescent sociodemographic characteristics or parents' drinking patterns. Discussion and Conclusions. Consistent with reports from Australian students, parents are a major source of supply of alcohol to underage adolescents. While there are legislative and policy guidelines regarding the use of alcohol by underage adolescents, parents need support to implement and reinforce alcohol‐specific rules for their children.[Ward BM, Snow PC. Factors affecting parental supply of alcohol to underage adolescents. Drug Alcohol Rev 2011;30:338–343]     

Substance use and suicidal ideation among child welfare involved adolescents: A longitudinal examination

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal predictors of alcohol use, marijuana use, and suicidal ideation among maltreated adolescents.MethodsLongitudinal data from this study come from three waves of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing II (NSCAW II). Participants included 1050 adolescents (M_age = 14.13) who were subjects of child abuse or neglect investigations. Items from the Health Risk Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure alcohol and marijuana use. Suicidal ideation was measured using an item from the Childhood Depression Inventory. Data on deviant peer affiliation, caregiver health, maltreatment type, age, race, and gender were also collected.ResultsMarijuana use, suicidal ideation, caregiver drug abuse, deviant peer affiliation, age, and race were predictive of alcohol use. Alcohol use, deviant peer affiliation, age, and time were predictive of marijuana use. Alcohol use, deviant peer affiliation, age, and gender predicted suicidal ideation.ConclusionsLongitudinal evidence indicated that individual, family, and peer factors played an important role in predicting alcohol use, marijuana use, and suicidal ideation among child welfare involved adolescents. In addition, this study provides evidence of a potentially reciprocal relationship between alcohol use and suicidal ideation among this population. Intervention efforts for reducing the public health problems of substance use and suicide among child welfare involved adolescents should focus on the importance of peers in influencing thoughts and behaviors, as well as the functional relationship between alcohol use and suicidal ideation.     

Racial differences in the link between alcohol expectancies and adolescent drinking

IntroductionAlcohol expectancies are important determinants and predictors of adolescent alcohol use. Research with African Americans has shown that the endorsement of positive alcohol expectancies differs from that of Whites during childhood and predicts different alcohol outcomes during young adulthood. However, limited research has explored racial differences in the relationship between expectancy endorsement and alcohol use in school-aged adolescents. The current study examines the effect of White or African American race on the relationship between positive alcohol expectancies and alcohol use.MethodsParticipants were 104 adolescents ages 12–18 who identified as either non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic African American. Participants completed self-report measures of alcohol consumption and positive social alcohol expectancies.ResultsPreliminary analyses revealed no racial differences in alcohol expectancies or consumption. However, race moderated the relationship between alcohol expectancies and alcohol use such that more positive expectancies predicted alcohol use among White youth, but not African American youth.ConclusionsThese results suggest that alcohol expectancies, which were thought to be important mediators of the relationship between social and personality factors and adolescent alcohol use may not be as impactful for African Americans. Future research should focus on identifying factors posing unique risk for alcohol consumption in this population.     

Trends in adolescent alcohol use in the Netherlands, 1992–2015: Differences across sociodemographic groups and links with strict parental rule-setting

BackgroundFrom an international perspective, studying trends in adolescent alcohol use in the Netherlands is an important case study. Whereas Dutch adolescents topped the international rankings of alcohol consumption in the beginning of this century, they are nowadays found more toward the bottom of these rankings. This study examines time trends in adolescent alcohol use between 1992 and 2015, and tests whether these trends differ according to gender, age group, and educational track. Moreover, it examines to what extent the strictness of parental rule-setting can explain the identified trends.MethodsUsing data from ten waves of two nationally representative studies with a repeated cross-sectional design, trends were examined for eight different alcohol measures. Interaction analyses were conducted to test for subgroup differences. All analyses were controlled for educational track, family structure, and ethnicity. For the period 2007–2015, trends in parental alcohol-specific rule-setting were included as a predictor of the trends in adolescent alcohol use.ResultsAdolescent alcohol use increased substantially between 1992 and 2003, and decreased sharply thereafter. Trends were stronger for 12- to 15-year olds, compared to the 16-year olds, and for adolescents attending higher educational tracks, compared to adolescents attending lower educational tracks. Overall, gender differences remained constant over time. Between 2007 and 2015, strict parental alcohol-specific rule-setting increased substantially, and this (partly) explained the strong decline in adolescent alcohol use during this period.ConclusionThis study shows clear time trend changes in alcohol use among Dutch adolescents. The phenomenal decrease in adolescent alcohol use since 2003 appears to be closely related to a radical change in parenting behaviours surrounding the alcohol use of their children. While national prevention programs may have encouraged stricter parenting behaviours, the decline in alcohol use should be interpreted in a broader context of internationally changing sociocultural norms regarding adolescent alcohol use.     

The Parental Bond and Alcohol Use Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Drinking Motives

Background: Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems represent a significant health concern. Few empirical researches focused on understanding the interrelationships and links between the parental bond, drinking motives, and alcohol use during adolescence.

Objectives: The present study examined the relationships between a supportive parental bond, drinking motives, and alcohol use, with a focus on the role of mediation.

Methods: The sample comprised 298 adolescents, aged from 16 to 20 years. The technique of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of the parental bond on alcohol use among adolescents through motives for drinking.

Results: The relationship between the parental bond and frequency of alcohol use by adolescents was not mediated by any motives for drinking, neither for males nor females. Regarding the relationships between the parental bond and quantity of adolescent alcohol consumption, findings for females showed significant indirect effects of maternal bond on alcohol quantity, when coping, enhancement, and social drinking motives were entered as mediator variables. Rather, paternal bond did not predict drinking quantity, not even indirectly. On the contrary, results for males indicated that the parental bond was neither directly nor indirectly associated with adolescent alcohol use.

Conclusions/Importance: Mothers are the relational fulcrum of the family, while fathers seem to maintain a more peripheral position. Gender differences are discussed on the basis of the different cultural and parental socialisation processes that operate for male and female adolescents.     

Path of socialization and cognitive factors' effects on adolescents' alcohol use in Taiwan

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore the direct and indirect effects of alcohol-related socialization factors and cognitive factors on adolescent alcohol use in a country with a low prevalence of drinking.

Methods

Data were obtained from the 2006 phase of the Child and Adolescent Behaviors in Long-term Evolution (CABLE) project, at which time the study participants were in grade nine (aged 14–15 years). Data from 1940 participants were analyzed. The main study variables included the current alcohol use of each adolescent, alcohol expectations, alcohol refusal efficacy, alcohol use among parents and peers, attitudes of the parents toward underage drinking, and peer encouragement of drinking. Path analysis was conducted to examine whether parental and peer socialization factors had direct effects on adolescent alcohol use, or whether they acted indirectly via cognitive factors.

Results

Among the participants, 19.54% had used alcohol in the previous month. Path analysis demonstrated that father, mother and peer alcohol use directly influenced alcohol use in adolescents. Attitudes of mothers toward underage drinking, peer drinking and peer encouragement of drinking had indirect effects on adolescent alcohol use that were mediated by cognitive factors.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that alcohol-related socialization factors could directly influence adolescent drinking behavior and had indirect effects on alcohol use that were mediated by cognitive factors partially. Parents and peers play important roles in preventing adolescent alcohol use. Establishing appropriate alcohol expectations and strengthening alcohol refusal skills could aid in decreasing alcohol use in adolescents.     

Family Factors of Low-Income African-American Youth Associated with Substance Use

Abstract

Objectives: An extensive body of literature has identified several risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use. Several facets of family relationships have been identified in the general adolescent and African-American adolescent substance use literature. There are gaps in the knowledge base for African-American rural youth living in poverty and would benefit from further exploration. It is possible that this unique population may exhibit trends not seen in the general population or urban African-American adolescents.

Method: A sample of 826 African-American adolescents, living in rural low-income areas and ranging in age from 14 to 19 years old were given a survey of 294 questions. Topics of the survey ranged from school attendance and attitudinal questions to queries concerning risk behaviors such as gang activity and substance use. Only variables concerning the family of the adolescent were used in this analysis. An exploratory analysis was performed to determine the relationship of family relationship variables to African-American rural adolescent substance use.

Results: The results suggest that several factors, namely existence of family rules and parental monitoring, are significant factors in buffering adolescent substance use for alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. These factors proved to be significant across gender.

Conclusions: The parent-adolescent relationship is an important factor influencing adolescent substance use. Also, the quality and type of parental/adolescent relationship is important. This relationship should also be targeted when considering any intervention for treating these adolescents. Further research should be conducted in this domain.     

Drinking and driving among immigrant and US-born Hispanic young adults: results from a longitudinal and nationally representative study

Objective

To evaluate the risk factors associated with the initiation of driving under the influence (DUI) among Hispanics in a longitudinal and nationally-representative sample of adolescents and young adults. Specifically, this study tests the effect of demographic variables, individual-level risk factors, and eco-processes (e.g., peer drug use, parental involvement) during adolescence on DUI among Hispanic young adults.

Methods

Data were derived from 1734 Hispanic adolescents surveyed for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Survey logistic regression procedures were used to examine the effects of nativity status on DUI initiation, to evaluate the independent effect of each risk factor (demographic, individual-level, and eco-processes), and to identify whether and to what extent these factors are associated with the initiation of DUI.

Results

The overall prevalence of DUI initiation was 18.3%. Differences were observed in the rates of DUI initiation by nativity status: first-generation immigrants reported the lowest rates of DUI initiation (15.4%) when compared with second-generation US-born Hispanic youth (17.4%) and third-generation and beyond US-born Hispanic youth (21.5%). US-born Hispanic youth were also more likely to report higher frequency of alcohol use (t = 3.46, p = 0.001) and marijuana use (t = 2.34, p = 0.021) compared to immigrant adolescents. After adjusting for a number of risk factors, men (OR = 2.86), marijuana users (OR = 1.98), and those who reported feeling safe in their neighborhoods (OR = 2.02) were at an increased risk DUI initiation.

Conclusions

Findings provide support for the “immigrant paradox”: immigrant youth reported lower rates of DUI initiation and other high-risk behaviors when compared with US-born Hispanic youth.     

The Importance of Peers in Alcohol Use Among Latino Adolescents: The Role of Alcohol Expectancies and Acculturation

Abstract

The present study examined the potentially mediating effect of alcohol expectancies and moderating effect of acculturation on the relationship between peer alcohol use and Latino adolescent alcohol use. Participants were 115 adolescents recruited through alternative schools, community events, a community psychologist, and Latino groups at a midwestern university. Questionnaires in this study assessed adolescents' perceptions about both their own and their peers' alcohol use in addition to their expectancies about the effects of alcohol, and their level of acculturation. Demographic characteristics of the sample were also assessed in order to control for their possible effects (e.g., age, gender). Results from the present study indicated that a higher level of peer alcohol use was associated with a higher level of adolescent alcohol use. Additionally, adolescents' expectancies about the effect of alcohol on their social behavior mediated the relationship between peer alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use. Results support previous research suggesting the importance of peers as role models for Latino adolescent alcohol use. Acculturation did not moderate the relationship between peer and adolescent alcohol use. The present study adds understanding as to how Latino adolescents' beliefs regarding alcohol use may influence the relationship between peer alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use.     

Alcohol use and abuse in young adulthood: Do self-control and parents' perceptions of friends during adolescence modify peer influence? The TRAILS study

Aims

To assess the influence of peer alcohol use during adolescence on young adults' alcohol use and abuse, and to assess to what extent parents' perception of their adolescent child's friends and adolescent's self-control modify this influence.

Methods

We analyzed data from the first, third, and fourth wave of a population-based prospective cohort study of 2230 adolescents conducted between 2001 and 2010 (mean ages: 11.1, 16.3, and 19.1, respectively). Alcohol use and abuse were measured at T4 by self-report questionnaires and by the Composite International Diagnostics Interview (CIDI), respectively. Peer alcohol use, self-control, and parents' perception of their adolescent child's friends were measured at T3. We adjusted for gender, age, socioeconomic-status, parental alcohol use, and adolescent baseline alcohol use.

Results

Peer alcohol use during adolescence was related to young adults' alcohol use and abuse [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.31 (1.11–1.54) and 1.50 (1.20–1.87), respectively]. Neither parents' perception of their adolescent child's friends nor self-control modified this relationship. Alcohol abusers were more likely to have low self-control than alcohol users. No differences were found between alcohol users and abusers regarding their parents' perception of their friends and peer alcohol use.

Conclusions

Peer alcohol use during adolescence affects young adults' alcohol use and abuse. We found that self-control was only related to alcohol abuse. Peer influence was not modified by parents' perception of peers or by self-control. Peer alcohol use and self-control should thus be separate targets in the prevention of alcohol use/abuse.     

Alcohol Makes You Macho and Helps You Make Friends: The Role of Masculine Norms and Peer Pressure in Adolescent Boys’ and Girls’ Alcohol Use

Peer pressure and general conformity to adult norms have been found to be strongly associated with alcohol use among adolescents; however there is limited knowledge about the sociocultural factors that might influence this relationship. Theory and research suggest that masculine norms might directly and indirectly contribute to alcohol use through peer pressure and general conformity to adult norms. Whereas being male is typically identified as a risk factor for alcohol use, masculine norms provide greater specificity than sex alone in explaining why some boys drink more than others. There is growing evidence that girls who endorse masculine norms may be at heightened risk of engaging in risky behaviors including alcohol use. Data were provided by adolescents living in a rural area in the Northeastern United States and were collected in 2006. This study demonstrated that masculine norms were associated with peer pressure and general conformity and alcohol use for both adolescent girls (n = 124) and boys (n = 138), though the relationship between masculine norms and alcohol use was stronger for boys. The study's limitations are noted and theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Adolescent alcohol expectancies in offspring from families at high risk for developing alcoholism

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated alcohol expectancies derived from the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) in parents and their adolescent offspring. It was of interest to determine whether alcohol expectancies would differ by risk status, and whether those differences were influenced by parental beliefs. METHOD: Children/ adolescents aged 8 to 18, from families at high risk for developing alcoholism (n = 69; 37 males) and from low-risk control families (n = 46; 25 males), were evaluated annually. At every assessment, each child and one parent were administered the AEQ and interviewed to determine drinking status. Data for two time points approximately 3 years apart were analyzed. RESULTS: In early adolescence, high-risk offspring expected more improvement in social functioning when under the influence of alcohol than did low-risk controls. However, by age 16, risk group differences were not seen. Higher scores on two of the AEQ scales (Social Behavior and Relaxation) predicted the age of onset for regular drinking, whereas one scale (Social Behavior) predicted drinking behavior. In addition, high-risk offspring were found to have beliefs about the effects of alcohol that were similar to those of their parents, in contrast to low-risk offspring and their parents, who displayed significant negative correlations. CONCLUSIONS: This report confirms previous studies relating alcohol expectancies to drinking behavior (frequency, quantity per occasion, social consequences). Alcohol expectancies also were found to predict the age of onset to begin regular drinking in the combined group of adolescents studied, although risk differences in age of onset were not influenced by differing expectations concerning the effects of alcohol. These results suggest that the risk differences in expectancies that were seen in young adolescents (approximately age 13) may be due to the transmission of parental beliefs to their offspring. The absence of risk differences by late adolescence (approximately age 16) suggests that other factors (e.g., peer influences or experience drinking alcohol) also play a role.     

Exposure to childhood neglect and physical abuse and developmental trajectories of heavy episodic drinking from early adolescence into young adulthood

BackgroundAlthough the literature suggests that childhood maltreatment (CM) relates to adolescent heavy episodic drinking (HED), few studies have examined the long-term effects of CM on adolescent HED. This study is the first to examine associations between exposure to CM and trajectories of HED from adolescence to young adulthood for the US population.MethodsFour waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used. A total of 8503 adolescents followed from adolescence (7th–12th grades) into young adulthood (ages 24–32) were assessed on CM and past-year HED frequency. Using growth curve modeling, trajectories of adolescent HED were examined, with subtype, frequency, and severity of CM as the primary independent variables. All of our analyses controlled for common risk factors for adolescent HED, including demographics, parental and peer alcohol use, parental education and employment, family income, parent–child relationship, and adolescent depression.ResultsAfter controlling for potential risk factors, neglect and physical abuse, both individually and in conjunction, were associated with faster increases in HED during adolescence and persistently elevated HED over much of adolescence and young adulthood. The frequency of neglect and physical abuse, individually and in conjunction, was also associated with the trajectory of HED, such that additional instances of these types of maltreatment were associated with faster increases in HED during adolescence and higher rates of peak use during young adulthood.ConclusionChild neglect and physical abuse appear to have long-lasting adverse effects on HED beyond adolescence and throughout much of young adulthood.     

Childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation, parental history of alcohol problems, and offspring lifetime alcohol dependence

Background

This study examined whether the experiences of childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation and parental alcohol problems affected the likelihood of offspring DSM-IV lifetime alcohol dependence, controlling for parental history of drug, depression, and antisocial behavior problems.

Method

Data were drawn from the 2001–2002 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a nationally representative United States survey of 43,093 civilian non-institutionalized participants aged 18 and older, interviewed in person. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the main and interaction effects of childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation and parental history of alcohol problems on offspring lifetime alcohol dependence, after adjusting for parental history of drug, depression, and antisocial behavior problems.

Results

Childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation and parental history of alcohol problems were significantly related to offspring lifetime alcohol dependence, after adjusting for parental history of drug, depression, and antisocial behavior problems. Experiencing parental divorce/separation during childhood, even in the absence of parental history of alcohol problems, remained a significant predictor of lifetime alcohol dependence. Experiencing both childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation and parental alcohol problems had a significantly stronger impact on the risk for DSM-IV alcohol dependence than the risk incurred by either parental risk factor alone.

Conclusions

Further research is needed to better identify the factors that increase the risk for lifetime alcohol dependence among those who experience childhood or adolescent parental divorce/separation.     

Changes in peer norms as a mediator of reduction in adolescent alcohol use

Background: Evidence from college samples suggests that changes in peer norms (perception about peer use) mediate changes in alcohol use. There is relatively little intervention-based research in adolescents. Objectives: To investigate whether changes in peer norms mediate the relationship between a brief intervention to reduce alcohol use, and level of use; additionally, to determine whether any mediation effects differ by adolescent age. Methods: Eighty-four adolescents aged 14–18 (Mean = 16.49, SD = 1.00), presenting to school-based health centers with moderate to high risk alcohol use were randomized to receive an electronic screening and feedback tool (Check Yourself) in addition to their visit, or their visit alone. Check Yourself includes provision of normative feedback regarding adolescent alcohol use. Measures of self-reported alcohol use, and peer norms were collected at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Results: Changes in perceptions of the proportion of peers using alcohol significantly mediated the relationship between the intervention and all three alcohol outcomes (frequency, typical quantity, and maximum quantity) such that reductions in perceived peer use were associated with reduced use. Moderated mediation suggested that these effects were stronger for younger adolescents compared with older adolescents. Perceptions of the frequency and quantity of peer use were not significant mediators of alcohol use. Conclusions/Importance: Results suggest that integrating normative feedback regarding peer alcohol use is a promising approach in adolescent focused school interventions. They extend previous findings by suggesting that perceptions of the proportion of peers using may be particularly meaningful, and that effects may be more pronounced in younger adolescents.     

What differentiates adolescent problematic drinkers from their peers? Results from a cross-sectional study in Northern Irish school children

Aim: To investigate whether or not a range of factors were associated with problematic drinking, as assessed using the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS) in a sample of 11–16-year olds in Northern Ireland.

Methods: The study used a cross-sectional experimental design. Post-primary schools in the Eastern Health Board Area of Northern Ireland were targeted and 1137 participants were recruited of whom 1057 (93%) successfully completed a battery of questionnaires. These measured parent and peer Attachment, self-efficacy, self-esteem, academic motivation, alcohol outcome expectancies, parental rules on alcohol use and alcohol use (if any).

Findings: Multinomial logistic regression revealed that more problematic alcohol use was predicted by being in higher school year, higher reported positive outcome expectancies and lower negative outcome expectancies, less strict and/or clear parental rules on alcohol consumption, lower academic self-efficacy, higher social self-efficacy and less trust of parents.

Conclusions: Preventative and/or harm reduction initiatives with this age group need to be aware of these as factors which differentiate adolescent drinkers. In particular, the findings suggest the potential need for age and gender specific interventions which challenge social norms about alcohol consumption, and the potential viability of family/school relationship-building interventions.     

Substance Use Among Adolescents of Parents Living With HIV in New York City

We examined the relationship of community, interpersonal, and personal risk and protective factors to substance use among adolescents of parents with HIV (PWH). Families with HIV (n = 269 PWH and 409 adolescents) from New York City were recruited, and multivariate models were used to examine the associations. Adjusting for age, gender, and ethnicity, substance use was positively associated in univariate analyses with parental substance use, family conflict, adolescent emotional distress, and adverse life events; having academically oriented friends and religiosity were protective. In the multivariate model, multiple problem behaviors (e.g., delinquency) and substance-using peers were significantly associated with substance use. The patterns of associations between the risk factors and substance use are similar to those of adolescents in families not impacted by HIV. Interventions aimed at improving parental care, reducing maladaptive peer networks, and decreasing problem behaviors are important strategies to explore in future prevention studies.