Parent-Adolescent Communication about Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Druguse

For this study, 67 adolescent African American and Caucasian adolescents were interviewed about their parent-adolescent conversations regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use. Analyses indicated that fewer than half of the youth had engaged in a conversation with one or more parent about ATOD use and that significantly more adolescents felt closest to and preferred talking with their mothers about risky topics than to other family members. Moreover, the results suggested that parental antidrug messages were part of the ongoing discourse of family life rather than structured in an isolated “drug talk,” as is advocated in contemporary media. This article argues for a clearer definition of the parent-adolescent conversation, discusses implications for targeting mothers as prevention agents, and introduces risksocialization theory.

[1]  J. Brook,et al.  Paternal Determinants of Female Adolescent's Marijuana Use. , 1984 .

[2]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[3]  J. Youniss,et al.  Adolescent Relations with Mothers, Fathers and Friends , 1985 .

[4]  P. Shaver,et al.  Adolescents' theories about the development of their relationships with parents. , 1985, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[5]  L. Johnston,et al.  Drug Use, Drinking, and Smoking: National Survey Results from High School, College, and Young Adult Populations, 1975-1988. , 1989 .

[6]  R. Coombs,et al.  Peer vs. parental influence in substance use among hispanic and Anglo children and adolescents , 1991, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[7]  D. Baumrind.  The Influence of Parenting Style on Adolescent Competence and Substance Use , 1991 .

[8]  Kenneth H. Beck,et al.  A model of parental involvement in adolescent drinking and driving , 1992, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[9]  R. Catalano,et al.  Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[10]  John J. Kennedy.  Analyzing qualitative data : log-linear analysis for behavioral research , 1992 .

[11]  M. Gillmore,et al.  Ethnic differences in family factors related to early drug initiation. , 1992, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[12]  B. B. Brown,et al.  Parenting practices and peer group affiliation in adolescence. , 1993, Child development.

[13]  L. Bass,et al.  Stereotype or reality: another look at alcohol and drug use among African American children. , 1993, Public health reports.

[14]  F. Lewis-Hall.  The African-American community. , 1994, Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health.

[15]  P. Noller.  Relationships with parents in adolescence: Process and outcome. , 1994 .

[16]  Greg S. Weaver,et al.  Predictors of Alcohol and Drug Use: A Multi-Ethnic Comparison , 1995 .

[17]  D. Kandel.  The Parental and Peer Contexts of Adolescent Deviance: An Algebra of Interpersonal Influences , 1996 .

[18]  David P. MacKinnon,et al.  Ethnicity and sex similarities and differences in drug resistance , 1997 .

[19]  G. Patterson,et al.  A developmental model for late-onset delinquency. , 1997, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[20]  F. Stillman.  Drug Abuse Prevention with Multiethnic Youth , 1997 .

[21]  M. Miller.  The social process of drug resistance in a relational context , 1998 .

[22]  R. Forehand,et al.  Family communication about sex: what are parents saying and are their adolescents listening? , 1998, Family planning perspectives.

[23]  M. Hutchinson,et al.  Patterns of parent-teen sexual risk communication: implications for intervention. , 1998 .

[24]  J. Hoffmann,et al.  Parental substance use disorder, mediating variables and adolescent drug use: a non-recursive model. , 1998, Addiction.

[25]  Patrick M. O'Malley,et al.  Monitoring the Future National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings, 2004. , 2003 .

[26]  M. Trost,et al.  Adolescent relationships and drug use , 2000 .

[27]  Michael Berry,et al.  Office of National Drug Control Policy , 2002 .

[28]  E. M. Hetherington,et al.  Parenting in divorced and remarried families. , 2002 .