Latino adolescent substance use: A mediating model of inter-parental conflict,deviant peer associations,and parenting

Substance use among Latino adolescents continues to be a growing concern for researchers and clinicians. This paper reviews relevant literature regarding the impact of inter-parental conflict (IPC), deviant peer associations (DPA) and parenting behaviors, namely as parental support, psychological control, and parental monitoring knowledge on substance use among Latino adolescents. Although mediating models of IPC and similar parenting behaviors on adolescent externalizing behaviors have been represented in empirical studies, none have included the influence of peer associations or have analyzed these factors with substance use among Latino adolescents in the U.S. This study investigated direct relationships of IPC and DPA with adolescent substance use, and tested parental support, psychological control and parental monitoring knowledge as mediators between those relationships in Latino adolescents. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze direct and indirect relationships of the variables mentioned among 744 Latino adolescents. Results indicated that DPA was positively associated with substance use, parental monitoring knowledge was negatively associated with substance use and that parental monitoring knowledge partially mediated the relationship between DPA and substance use. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of areas of focus for interventions.     

Trajectories of loneliness during COVID-19 pandemic and associations with mental health and substance use

We examined patterns of longitudinal trajectories of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic using six time points (January 2020 [pre-pandemic] to March/April 2021) and whether trajectories were associated with psychological distress (depression/anxiety) and substance use (alcohol/cannabis) outcomes in Spring 2021. Participants were 644 young adults who completed online assessments. Outcomes were regressed on most-likely loneliness trajectory adjusting for pre-pandemic measures. Three loneliness trajectories varied from consistently lower to consistently higher. Pre-pandemic social support was associated with lower odds of a higher loneliness trajectory. Higher loneliness trajectories were associated with greater odds of past-month cannabis use compared to Low trajectories, but not significantly associated with depression, anxiety, or alcohol use in Spring 2021. Interventions addressing co-occurring loneliness and cannabis use are needed.     

How Academic Achievement,Attitudes, and Behaviors Relate to the Course of Substance Use During Adolescence: A 6‐Year,Multiwave National Longitudinal Study

Self‐report data regarding alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use were collected biennially from ages 14 to 20 in a nationally representative panel sample of adolescents (N=1,897) from the Monitoring the Future study. Growth curve analyses were performed using hierarchical linear modeling to consider psychosocial background, motivation and school attitudes, and parental and peer influences at age 14 as predictors of concurrent substance use and change in substance use. Results indicated that school misbehavior and peer encouragement of misbehavior were positively associated with substance use at age 14 and with increased use over time; school bonding, school interest, school effort, academic achievement, and parental help with school were negatively associated. The protective effects of positive school attitudes and perceptions of high status connected to academics were stronger for low‐achieving compared with high‐achieving youth. Implications for a developmental perspective on substance use etiology and prevention are discussed.     

Adolescent drug use, psychological distress, and physical symptoms

The longitudinal interrelationships among general drug use, psychological distress, and physical symptoms were investigated in a three wave panel study of a community sample of adolescents interviewed when they were 12, 15, and 18 years of age. Results did not provide any support for the hypothesis that adolescents use drugs in general to cope with pre-existing psychological distress and physical symptoms. In contrast, the results supported the hypothesis that general drug use contributes to physical and psychological impairments over time. However, such drug-induced psychological distress and physical symptoms only occurred in later adolescence (from ages 15 to 18), and no evidence of impairments due to general drug use or specific alcohol use was found in early adolescence (from ages 12 to 15). Psychological distress and physical symptoms influenced each other over time, and physical symptoms partially mediated longitudinal changes in psychological distress. However, general drug use did not mediate any longitudinal changes in psychological distress and physical symptoms.     

Sex drugs, peer connections, and HIV: Use and risk among African American, Latino, and Multiracial young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Los Angeles and New York

African American and Latino young men who have sex with men are at high risk for HIV infection. We administered brief intercept surveys (N=416) at 18 Black and Latino gay pride events in Los Angeles and New York in 2006 and 2007. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to model the effects of substance use during sex, peer connectedness, relationship status, and homelessness on condom use. Alcohol use, crystal use, homelessness, and having a primary relationship partner were negatively associated with condom use, while peer connectedness and marijuana use during sex were positively associated with condom use. Implications for service providers and future research are discussed.     

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Condom Use: Potential Mechanisms in Adolescent Males

Previous research has revealed a significant bivariate relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and reduced condom use among adolescent boys. However, to date, no known studies have explored the psychological mechanisms that may explain this relationship. Thus, the current study sought to examine two possible mediators in the association between AAS and condom use: depressive symptoms and substance use. Data were extracted from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Participants were 3,780 U.S. high school boys who responded to self-report items assessing a number of health behaviors, including symptoms of depression, substance use, AAS use, and use of condoms during their most recent act of intercourse. Both depression and substance use were significant mediators in the relationship between AAS and condom use. However, when these effects were contrasted, the indirect effect of substance use was significantly stronger in magnitude than the effect of depression. Although AAS use was associated with sexual risk behaviors among adolescent boys, significant variance in this relationship was accounted for by elevated levels of depression and substance use, with substance use demonstrating a particularly salient pathway.     

Parent Psychological Distress: A Moderator of Behavioral Health Intervention Outcomes among Justice‐Involved Adolescents

We examined whether pre‐existing parent psychological distress moderated juvenile offenders’ substance use, sexual risk, and mental health outcomes in a randomized trial. Forty‐seven parent–adolescent dyads received either Family‐based Affect Management Intervention (FAMI) for adolescent substance use and HIV prevention or adolescent‐only Health Promotion Intervention (HPI). Parents’ self‐reported distress at baseline significantly moderated adolescents’ self‐reported marijuana use and alcohol use but not other outcomes at 3 months postintervention, producing crossover interactions. FAMI outperformed HPI when parents reported high‐level distress, whereas HPI outperformed FAMI when parents reported low‐level distress. This finding that the relative efficacy of interventions depends on the severity of parent psychological distress could inform efforts to match substance‐using, justice‐involved adolescents with the intervention most likely to benefit them.     

Depressive Distress and Prevalence of Common Problems Among Homosexually Active African American Women in the United States

SUMMARY

We report findings from a national survey of 603 homosexually experienced African American women who self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Levels of psychological distress greatly exceeded population norms for African American women. The most frequent problems participants reported were romantic relationship and financial difficulties. Problems with using drugs or alcohol to self-medicate psychological distress were the most chronic stressors. Although 31% of women indicated they received emotional support from a counselor or other professional in the prior month, the least likely to receive support were those reporting chronic financial, housing, anger, or substance use problems. These findings underscore the vulnerability of African American women, who navigate the triple stigma of having a minority ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender.     

New Parents' Psychological Adjustment and Trajectories of Early Parental Involvement

Trajectories of parental involvement time (engagement and child care) across 3, 6, and 9 months postpartum and associations with parents' own and their partners' psychological adjustment (dysphoria, anxiety, and empathic personal distress) were examined using a sample of dual‐earner couples experiencing first‐time parenthood (N = 182 couples). Using time diary measures that captured intensive parenting moments, hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that patterns of associations between psychological adjustment and parental involvement time depended on the parenting domain, aspect of psychological adjustment, and parent gender. Psychological adjustment difficulties tended to bias the 2‐parent system toward a gendered pattern of “mother step in” and “father step out,” as father involvement tended to decrease and mother involvement either remained unchanged or increased in response to their own and their partners' psychological adjustment difficulties. In contrast, few significant effects were found in models using parental involvement to predict psychological adjustment.     

Early abuse experiences and subsequent gender differences in couple adjustment

The main purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between early abusive experiences (sexual abuse, parental violence, and witnessing parental violence) and subsequent couple adjustment with a theoretical model that incorporates attachment and psychological distress as mediator variables. We specifically examined the variability in long-term psychosocial characteristics of child abuse survivors across women and men. A representative sample of French-Canadian couples composed of 632 men and women completed measures of child abuse, attachment, psychological distress, and dyadic adjustment. Structural equation analyses showed that, for both women and men, sexual abuse was related to dyadic adjustment through anxiety about abandonment and psychological distress. For men, experiencing physical or psychological violence was associated with dyadic adjustment through psychological distress. For women, there was an indirect relationship between witnessing physical violence and dyadic adjustment through abandonment anxiety. Differences between men and women in the long-term adjustment to childhood sexual abuse were small and not consistent with a gender-specific model of psychosocial repercussions.     

Toward a dimensional model of risk and protective factors influencing children's early cognitive,social, and emotional development during the COVID-19 pandemic

Variation in infants’ home environment is implicated in their cognitive and psycho-social development. The pandemic has intensified variations in home environments through exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities, and increasing psychological stressors for some families. This study investigates the effects of parental (predominantly maternal) mental health, enriching activities and screen use on 280 24- to 52-month-olds’ executive functions, internalising and externalising problems, and pro-social behaviour; with socioeconomic status and social support as contextual factors. Our results indicate that aspects of the home environment are differentially associated with children’s cognitive and psycho-social development. Parents who experienced sustained mental distress during the pandemic tended to report higher child externalising and internalising problems, and executive function difficulties at follow-up. Children who spent more time engaged in enriching activities with their parents showed stronger executive functions and social competence six months later. Screen use levels during the first year of the pandemic were not associated with outcomes. To mitigate the risk of persistent negative effects for this ‘pandemic generation’ of infants, our study highlights the importance of supporting parents’ mental health. As our results demonstrate the impact of social support on mental health, investing in support services and interventions promoting building support networks are likely to be beneficial.     

The Importance of Parenting and Financial Contributions in Promoting Fathers' Psychological Health

This study explores the relationship between residential, biological fathers' parental engagement, financial contributions, and psychological well‐being in 2‐parent families. Specifically, this study focuses on how fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions are related to their self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, and psychological distress. Analyses utilize data from the first 2 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics' Child Development Supplement and employ a subsample of father‐child pairs (N = 771). The most consistent finding was that fathers' engagement in parenting and financial contributions to the family predicted improvements in fathers' psychological well‐being. On the other hand, the results found very limited support for the more common proposition that healthy psychological functioning promotes increases in fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions.     

Neighborhood influences on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use: mediating effects through parent and peer behaviors

The influence of neighborhoods on adolescent behaviors has received increasing research attention. In the present study, we use structural equation models to specify pathways from neighborhoods to adolescent cigarette and alcohol use through parental closeness, parental monitoring, parent substance use, and peer substance use. We use a national sample with 959 adolescents 12 to 14 years of age whose residential addresses were matched with 1990 Census tracts to provide neighborhood characteristics. We found that for adolescent cigarette use low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring, which was further associated with decreased adolescent cigarette use. For adolescent alcohol use, high SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parent drinking, which was further associated with increased adolescent alcohol use. Low SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring and increased peer drinking, which were in turn associated with decreased and increased adolescent alcohol use, respectively.     

Responsiveness in Parent‐Adolescent Relationships: Are Influences Conditional? Does the Reporter Matter?

This paper examines conditional and reporter effects of parental responsiveness using survey data from White 8th to 12th graders (N = 440) and their parents (N = 511). Adolescent reports of maternal and paternal responsiveness predicted higher GPAs, fewer delinquent behaviors, and less internal distress. Mothers’ and fathers’ reports of responsiveness were positively associated with adolescent responsibility. Looking within families, the more dissimilar mother and adolescent reports were, the more internal distress daughters reported. Looking across families, mothers’ responsiveness was associated with higher GPAs and fathers’ responsiveness was associated with lower substance use, but only for adolescents who reported less responsiveness than their parents and peers. The findings suggest using a single reporter to describe a relationship property is incomplete.     

Longitudinal test of a multiple domain model of adolescent condom use

A comprehensive multiple domain model (MDM) to understand condom use in adolescents was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling of data at three time points. The proposed model integrates social psychological theory, demographic and personality factors, social environment, and situational/contextual variables. Adolescents who were sexually active at time 2 (6 months after baseline) and time 3 (1 year after time 2) and completed surveys at all three time points were included in the analyses (N = 511). An iterative process of model testing resulted in a structural equation model that provided a good fit to the data (CFI = .92, RMSEA = .04). Models comparing gender and race as moderators also were calculated and supported the generalizability of the model. Results provide support for an MDM that goes beyond traditional social psychological models for a broader understanding of condom use in adolescents. Implications for further theory testing and safer sexual interventions are discussed.     

Substance Use,Distress, and Adolescent School Networks

This study examined the associations of substance use, psychological distress, and mental health services receipt with the structure and content of adolescent school‐based networks. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we found that substance use was associated with receiving more, but making fewer, peer nominations. It also was associated with less favorable network characteristics, such as low GPA. Services receipt was associated with receiving and making fewer nominations, less favorable network characteristics, and a lower likelihood of reciprocated best friendships. Psychological distress had fewer significant associations. All associations were modest in magnitude. Our results suggest the importance of considering multiple indicators of socioemotional problems and multiple dimensions of social networks in research on adolescent peer relations.     

The Cedar Project: Understanding Barriers to Consistent Condom use over Time in a Cohort of Young Indigenous People who use Drugs

ABSTRACT Little information exists on the use of condoms as protective barriers to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among indigenous people in Canada. This study explores risk factors of inconsistent condom use (during consensual sex) over time among participants in the Cedar Project, a prospective cohort study of indigenous young people living in Vancouver and Prince George, British Columbia, who use drugs. Due to the serial measurements for each study subject, generalized estimating equations modeling with logit link was used to accommodate the temporal correlation within subjects. For young women, inconsistent condom use over time was predicted by having a recent STI (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.12, 2.79]), smoking crack daily (AOR = 1.63, 95%CI [1.02, 2.61]), and having experienced recent sexual abuse (AOR = 2.07, 95%CI [1.20, 3.56]). Among young men, living in Prince George (AOR = 1.63, 95%CI [1.14, 2.39]) and daily crack smoking (AOR = 1.56, 95%CI [1.02, 2.40]) were associated with inconsistent condom use over time. Among participants who used injection drugs, inconsistent condom use was associated with smoking crack daily (AOR = 1.59, 95%CI [1.04, 2.43]) and sharing needles (AOR = 1.78, 95%CI [1.26, 2.51]). The availability and effectiveness of sexual health services must be prioritized for indigenous people, and the design of culturally safe sexual health programs requires the meaningful involvement of young indigenous people.     

Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress.

Although past research indicates that women's higher levels of psychological distress can be accounted for by their greater exposure and vulnerability to role-related stress, the social psychological factors contributing to female vulnerability have not been fully identified. This paper applies identity theory to the phenomenon of gender differences in distress among parents. From an identity perspective, I propose that salience of the parental identity in women's self-conceptions contributes to their vulnerability to parental role strains. Using 1988 survey data from a stratified random sample of married and divorced Indianapolis residents (N = 448), I find that gender differences in distress are explained by differences in exposure to parental role strains. Further analyses reveal, however, that salience of the parental identity contributes to both men's and women's vulnerability to parental role strains. These findings underscore the utility of identity theory for explaining psychological distress among women and men.     

Violence Exposure and Drug Use in Central American Youth: Family Cohesion and Parental Monitoring as Protective Factors

Associations between witnessing serious violence and drug use, and the protective influences of family cohesion and parental monitoring, were investigated among 9,840 adolescents (50.5% female, M age=15.29 years, SD=1.76) living in Panama and Costa Rica. After accounting for demographics and parental and sibling substance use, witnessing serious violence was associated with greater drunkenness, tobacco use, number of illicit drugs used, and problems with drugs and alcohol. In every analysis, exposure to violence was associated with more drug use, while family cohesion and parental monitoring attenuated risk. Further, family cohesion and parental monitoring exerted a protective‐stabilizing effect on number of illicit drugs used and on problems with drugs and alcohol. There were few interactions with age. Implications for prevention are discussed.