The impact of family context, deviant attitudes, and emotional distress on adolescent drug use: Longitudinal latent-variable analyses of mothers and their children

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Abstract

This study examined the impact of family disruption, mothers' drug use, emotional distress, and somatic complaints upon their children's drug use, deviant attitudes, and emotional distress during early adolescence and also at late adolescence. Data were obtained independently from 557 mothers and their sons or daughters when the children were in Grade 7, 8, or 9. Data were collected again from the children 3 years later when they were in their late teenage years. Family Disruption and all of the mother constructs were significantly correlated in a positive direction. Mother Somatic Complaints and Mother Emotional Distress were not directly related to the child constructs; these effects were mediated through Family Disruption or Mother Drug Use. Mother Drug Use was significantly associated with their children's Drug Use, Socially Deviant Attitudes, and Emotional Distress during early adolescence. Mother Drug Use did not directly influence the child's qualities or behavior in late adolescence; these effects were mediated through the early adolescent constructs. Family Disruption was significantly related to the Child's Drug Use and Socially Deviant Attitudes during early adolescence and had a significant impact upon Emotional Distress at late adolescence. When all effects were considered simultaneously in a theoretically driven model, Socially Deviant Attitudes had the largest direct impact on early drug use, whereas the impact of the family context variables and the other child constructs on drug use was mediated through deviant attitudes. An alternate, competing hypothesis that child drug use generated child deviant attitudes was rejected empirically.

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    This research was partially supported by Grant DA01070 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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