Adolescent Work Intensity and Substance Use: The Mediational and Moderational Roles of Parenting

The dialectic between the adolescent quest for autonomy and parents’ desire to regulate this quest are explored by examining the extent to which the association between adolescent work intensity and substance use is mediated and moderated by parenting practices. Results using data from the National Survey of Youth and Religion (N = 3,290) show that the association between work intensity and alcohol use is mediated by parenting practices. There is also limited support for the moderational role of parental monitoring with respect to heavy drinking. Finally, connections among work intensity, parenting practices, and substance use are pronounced for adolescents younger than 16 years of age. These findings suggest the importance of a multifaceted view of parenting practices that both shape and are shaped by their adolescent’s search for independence.     

Offending,Substance Use,and Cohabitation in Young Adulthood1

Over half of young adults have cohabited, but relatively little is known about the role delinquency and substance use play in youths’ odds of cohabiting as well as the implications of cohabitation for early adult offending and substance use. This study focuses on the reciprocal relationship between cohabitation during late adolescence and young adulthood and self‐reported offending and substance use. Using longitudinal data, we find that net of traditional predictors, delinquency involvement is associated with increased odds of cohabitation and cohabiting at younger ages while substance use is not related to cohabiting during early adulthood. Further analysis indicates that cohabitation is associated with lower reports of substance use. However, cohabitation is not associated with self‐reported offending. The results help unravel the connection between cohabitation experience, offending and substance use, and early adult outcomes.     

Adolescent Sexuality and the Risk of Marital Dissolution

This research investigates whether first sexual intercourse during adolescence is associated with increased risk of first marriage dissolution and tests whether the results are consistent with causal or selection explanations. Drawing on a sample of 3,793 ever‐married women from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, this study estimated event‐history models of first‐marriage dissolution. Results indicate that wanted sexual debut in later adolescence does not directly increase the risk of marital dissolution but is linked indirectly as a result of subsequent premarital sexual outcomes. Sexual debut that is not completely wanted or that occurs before age 16 is associated with increased risk of marital dissolution. The results suggest that the timing and context of adolescent sexual debut have important implications for marital stability.     

Substance Use and Early Marriage

Prior work indicates that substance use is related to adolescent marriage. We describe two different processes that may account for this relationship and hypothesize patterns of association that would be consistent or inconsistent with each. Using data from a study that followed west coast youth from 7th grade to young adulthood (N = 3,324), we assessed the effects of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in 7th and 10th grade on the probability of marriage prior to age 20. When gender, race, and SES were controlled, cigarette use in adolescence, but not other substance use, was associated with early marriage. Low educational attainment and early unwed parenthood each uniquely mediated this association. These results suggest that the link between substance use and early marriage reflects a disposition toward risky or unconventional behavior, not the judgment‐impairing effects of drug and alcohol use.     

Alcohol and Substance Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The Role of Siblings

Interpersonal relationships within and outside the family have been a central part of alcohol and substance use research. Many studies have focused on the role of parents and peers; fewer studies have focused on siblings. This article examines siblings’ roles in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use patterns and trajectories in the context of familial and nonfamilial factors across time. First, intraclass correlations were used to examine the degree to which older siblings’ ATOD use was associated with younger siblings’ ATOD use. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which individual, parent, sibling, and peer factors over time were associated with adolescents’ and young adults’ ATOD use. It should be noted that developmentally proximal predictors were utilized in these models and within-family replication was also examined. Results demonstrate strong associations between older and younger siblings’ ATOD use. Moreover, the developmentally proximal sibling variables were predictive of younger sibling ATOD use in the context of other variables across all substances. Study findings are discussed in terms of identifying promising and potentially malleable points of intervention for future investigators.     

Predictors and Protective Factors in the Prevention and Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders

Contemporary adolescents are at a higher risk for developing a substance use disorder. Risk factors serve as predictors for identifying youths at the greatest risk for developing these disorders. Protective factors serve to protect adolescents from developing the substance use disorders. First-time drug use can be prevented through the “model program” modalities implemented through prevention research. However, when youths fall through the cracks and develop a substance dependency on alcohol or other substances, treatment strategies promise hope for adolescents who are experiencing the onset of substance dependency.     

Estimates and Meanings of Marital Separation

Marital separation is an informal transition that may precede or substitute for divorce. Various surveys collect data on marital separation, but the data have produced mixed estimates. The authors used data from the 1995 and 2006 waves of the National Survey of Family Growth (N = 2,216) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (NLSY79; N = 1,990) to examine separations among women born between 1961 and 1965. In the National Survey of Family Growth, separations were typically short and followed by divorce. In the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort, separations were longer and less likely to end in divorce. The authors relate these discrepancies to differences in study design, question universe, and question wording between the 2 surveys and show that different measures of separation lead to different conclusions about educational and racial/ethnic inequalities in the trajectories of marital disruption.     

Effects of Religiosity,Forgiveness, and Spousal Empathy on Marital Adjustment

This study focused on married couples in a region of the United States that previous research has identified as having high rates of both religiosity and divorce. As a result, this study was designed to examine the effects of religiosity, forgiveness, and spousal empathy on marital adjustment. To investigate these constructs, married couples in this region were recruited (n?=?829) to participate in a cross-sectional, self-report telephone survey. Results indicate that religious service attendance and spousal empathy have direct positive effects on marital adjustment in European American married men; while religious service attendance, forgiveness, and spousal empathy have direct positive effects on marital adjustment in European American married women. Among African-American participants, only spousal empathy had a direct effect on marital adjustment for both men and women. Finally, spousal empathy moderated the association between previous marriage and current marital adjustment among European American married women.     

Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs of finding sexual alternatives, (b) cohabitors' lower barriers to ending the relationship in the form of union‐specific economic and noneconomic capital, and (c) cohabitors' higher expectations for sexual activity. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 5,902), we examined the relationship between sexual frequency and union dissolution. Results indicated that low sexual frequency was associated with significantly higher rates of union dissolution among cohabitors than married couples.     

Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution: An Examination of Recent Marriages

An ongoing question remains for family researchers: Why does a positive association between cohabitation and marital dissolution exist when one of the primary reasons to cohabit is to test relationship compatibility? Drawing on recently collected data from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth, the authors examined whether premarital cohabitation experiences were associated with marital instability among a recent contemporary (married since 1996) marriage cohort of men (N = 1,483) and women (N = 2,003). They found that a dichotomous indicator of premarital cohabitation was in fact not associated with marital instability among women and men. Furthermore, among cohabitors, marital commitment prior to cohabitation (engagement or definite plans for marriage) was tied to lower hazards of marital instability among women, but not men. This research contributes to our understanding of cohabitation, marital instability, and broader family change.     

Parents' Marital Status,Father-Daughter Intimacy and Young Adult Females' Dating Relationships

Abstract

The affective relationships of young adult females and their fathers were investigated for effects on dating relationships, dating anxiety, and interpersonal trust. Ninety-six college females, 66 with married parents and 25 with divorced parents, completed questionnaires about father-daughter intimacy, dating satisfaction, dating anxiety, and; trust. It was hypothesized that females with divorced vs. married parents, and females scoring lower on the intimacy scale, regardless of family structure, would experience less father-daughter intimacy, lower dating satisfaction and trust, and higher dating anxiety. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that females with divorced vs. married parents experienced significantly less intimacy with their fathers but similar levels of trust, anxiety, and satisfaction. Comparisons of females high and low in father-daughter intimacy showed no differences in trust, anxiety, or dating satisfaction. The relative importance of parents' marital status versus other factors relevant to divorce (e.g., intimacy, presence of a stepfather) will be discussed.     

Serial Cohabitation and the Marital Life Course

Using cohort data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper tracks the experiences of serial cohabitors. Results indicate that only a minority of cohabiting women (about 15% – 20%) were involved in multiple cohabitations. Serial cohabitations were overrepresented among economically disadvantaged groups, especially those with low income and education. They also were less likely than single‐instance cohabiting unions to end in marriage rather than dissolve. If serial cohabitors married, divorce rates were very high — more than twice as high as for women who cohabited only with their eventual husbands. The results suggest the need to balance the government’s current preoccupation with marriage promotion with greater support of “at risk” unions that marriage promotion initiatives have helped create.     

Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Interventions Outside of Classroom Settings

Substance use prevention programs empowering individual adolescents to resist substance use through education and skills training are crucial to reducing substance use within this population. However, existing programs of this type are designed primarily for classroom use, and may not meet the needs of social workers intervening with adolescents outside classroom settings. A literature review identified six programs that have demonstrated statistically significant reductions in substance use when implemented outside the classroom. The current study describes these programs, identifies their common characteristics, and draws on additional prevention research to outline recommendations for practitioners seeking to apply the field’s most current knowledge base in community settings.     

The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), this article investigates a number of hypotheses used to explain the relationship between family structure and adolescent drug use. In particular, using linked community‐level data, an explicit examination of hypotheses drawn from a community‐context model is conducted. These hypotheses posit that the impact of family structure on adolescent behavior is, in part, explained by the different types of communities within which families reside and that community characteristics moderate the impact of family structure on drug use. The results of multilevel regression models fail to support these hypotheses; adolescents who reside in single‐parent or stepparent families are at heightened risk of drug use irrespective of community context. Moreover, adolescents who reside in single father families are at risk of both higher levels of use and increasing use over time. A significant community‐level effect involves jobless men: Adolescents are at increased risk of drug use if they reside in communities with a higher proportion of unemployed and out‐of‐workforce men.     

Parental Substance Use and Foster Care Reentry

Foster care involvement due to parental substance use is a common problem with many challenges associated with service delivery. Using administrative data from a Midwestern state between the years 2009 and 2015 (N = 17,420), this study examines characteristics of substance-abusing families at the time of entry into the foster care system and estimates the risk of reentry subsequent to reunification. Bivariate findings and survival analysis for reentry suggests substance-using parents are more likely to be involved in additional allegations associated with foster care involvement. These results highlight the need for improved services integration and coordinated delivery among service systems.     

Reexamining the Association of Maternal Age and Marital Status at First Birth With Youth Educational Attainment

We reexamined the association of maternal age and marital status at birth with youth high school completion using data from the Children and Young Adult sample of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and giving attention to multiple age categories and race and ethnic variations. Youth born to older teen mothers were no more likely to graduate from high school than those born to the youngest teen mothers. Although delaying childbirth to young adulthood was associated with greater odds of children's high school completion when compared with the earliest teen births, those born to young adult mothers were disadvantaged when compared with those born to mothers aged 25 years or older. Being born to an unmarried mother was associated with lower odds of high school completion. We found no evidence that maternal age at birth more strongly predicted high school graduation for White compared with Latino and Black youth.