Developmental, family, and ethnic in influences on adolescent alcohol usage: A growth curve approach.

The influence of the developmental process of individuation, family conflict and cohesion, and ethnicity on adolescent alcohol use was examined in a 3-year longitudinal study. Participants included non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and African American adolescents (n?=?6,522) from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. They were surveyed annually for 3 years. Depending on which aspect of individuation was measured, hierarchical linear modeling indicated that changes in adolescent individuation were related to either increases or decreases in alcohol use over the 3-year period. Separation and family conflict were related to increases in alcohol use, and intergenerational individuation and family cohesion were related to decreases in alcohol use. White and Mexican American adolescents had a faster rate of increase in alcohol use than did African American youth. Separation and family process similarly influenced adolescent alcohol use from different ethnic groups. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use: A longitudinal random coefficients model.

Longitudinal latent growth models were used to examine the relation between changes in adolescent alcohol use and changes in peer alcohol use over a 3-year period in a community-based sample of 363 Hispanic and Caucasian adolescents. Both adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use were characterized by positive linear growth over time. Not only were changes in adolescent alcohol use closely related to changes in peer alcohol use, but the initial status on peer alcohol use was predictive of later increases in adolescent alcohol use and the initial status on adolescent alcohol use was predictive of later increases in peer alcohol use. These results are inconsistent with models positing solely unidirectional effects between adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance use among Asian American adolescents: Influence of race, ethnicity, and acculturation in the context of key risk and protective factors.

This study examines the relative influence of race/ethnicity, acculturation, peer substance use, and academic achievement on adolescent substance use among different Asian American ethnic groups and U.S. racial/ethnic groups. Data from the Wave 1 in-home sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used to examine lifetime use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana in a full adolescent sample of all racial/ethnic groups (N = 20,745) and a subsample of Asian American adolescents (N = 1,248). Path analysis examined the hypothesized relationships of peer substance use and acculturation as risk factors and academic achievement as a protective factor for racial/ethnic groups. The results indicated that when Asian American adolescents were compared to other major U.S. racial/ethnic groups, peer use and acculturation were both significant mediators of smoking, drinking, and marijuana use, and academic achievement mediated each type of use at a trend level. For Asian American ethnic groups, peer use is a risk factor and, to a lesser extent, academic achievement is a protective factor for substance use. Also, although acculturation is a predictor of substance use, when peer use and academic achievement are taken into account, acculturation—like ethnicity—no longer predicts use. Mediation analyses indicated that peer substance use mediates smoking, drinking, and marijuana use; academic achievement does not; and acculturation mediates substance use for some substances and some Asian American ethnic groups. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how culturally specific approaches can inform preventive interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Movie exposure to alcohol cues and adolescent alcohol problems: A longitudinal analysis in a national sample.

The authors tested a theoretical model of how exposure to alcohol cues in movies predicts level of alcohol use (ever use plus ever and recent binge drinking) and alcohol-related problems. A national sample of younger adolescents was interviewed by telephone with 4 repeated assessments spaced at 8-month intervals. A structural equation modeling analysis performed for ever-drinkers at Time 3 (N = 961) indicated that, controlling for a number of covariates, movie alcohol exposure at Time 1 was related to increases in peer alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use at Time 2. Movie exposure had indirect effects to alcohol use and problems at Times 3 and 4 through these pathways, with direct effects to problems from Time 1 rebelliousness and Time 2 movie exposure also found. Prospective risk-promoting effects were also found for alcohol expectancies, peer alcohol use, and availability of alcohol in the home; protective effects were found for mother's responsiveness and for adolescent's school performance and self-control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Parents Still Matter? Parent and Peer Influences on Alcohol Involvement Among Recent High School Graduates.

This study investigated the influences of peer and parent variables on alcohol use and problems in a sample of late adolescents in the summer immediately prior to entry into college. Participants (N = 556) completed a mail survey assessing peer influences (alcohol offers, social modeling, perceived norms), parental behaviors (nurturance, monitoring), and attitudes and values (disapproval for heavy drinking, permissiveness for drinking), and alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated significant associations between both peer and parental influences and alcohol involvement, and showed that parental influences moderated peer-influence-drinking behavior, such that higher levels of perceived parental involvement were associated with weaker relations between peer influences and alcohol use and problems. These findings suggest that parents continue to exert an influential role in late adolescent drinking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping dimensions, life stress, and adolescent substance use: A latent growth analysis.

The relation of seven coping dimensions to substance (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana) use was tested with a sample of 1,668 participants assessed at mean age 12.5 years and two yearly follow-ups. An associative latent-growth model showed one index of engagement (behavioral coping) to be inversely related to initial level of adolescent use and growth over time in peer use. Three indices of disengagement (anger coping, helpless coping, and hangout coping) were positively related to initial levels of peer use and adolescent use and to growth in adolescent use. Moderation tests indicated that effects of coping were significantly greater at higher level of stress; behavioral coping buffered the effects of disengagement. Effects of life stress were greater for girls than boys. Results are discussed with reference to mechanisms of coping-substance use relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age of onset of first alcohol intoxication and subsequent alcohol use among urban American Indian adolescents.

The objective was to assess the effect of early onset intoxication on subsequent alcohol involvement among urban American Indian youth. The data come from the American Indian Research (AIR) project, a panel study of urban Indian youth residing in King County, Washington. Data were collected annually from the adolescent and his/her primary caregiver from the 1988–89 school year to the 1996–97 school year, providing a total of nine waves of data. Early intoxication (by age 14) was related to delinquency, family history of alcohol abuse or dependence, poverty, broken family structure, less family cohesiveness, and more family conflict. The effects of these characteristics were, therefore, partialed out in testing effects of early intoxication on later alcohol involvement. Two-part latent growth models of alcohol use and alcohol problems were specified. Effects of early onset intoxication on these trajectories, as well as lifetime alcohol abuse or dependence by the transition to young adulthood, were examined. Findings indicate that adolescents who experienced their first intoxication early (by age 14), used alcohol more heavily from the ages of 16 to 18, experienced more problems related to the alcohol's use from the ages of 16 to 18, and were more likely to have a diagnosed alcohol disorder by the final wave of data collection. Congruent with similar studies in the general population, early intoxication appears to be associated with a deleterious course of alcohol involvement during adolescence and into the transition to young adulthood among urban American Indian youth. Implications for prevention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive alcohol expectancies partially mediate the relation between delinquent behavior and alcohol use: Generalizability across age, sex, and race in a cohort of 85,000 Iowa schoolchildren.

The extent to which positive alcohol expectancies mediated the association between delinquency and alcohol use, as well as whether age, sex, or race moderated this mediational relation, was examined in a population-based sample of Iowa schoolchildren (N = 85,301) from the 6th, 8th, and 11th grades. Positive alcohol expectancies were found to partially mediate the association between delinquency and alcohol use (alcohol use initiation, past-month drinking, and past-month binge drinking) across the full sample and in each age, sex, and racial subgroup. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for age and race but not for sex, which suggests that the magnitude of the relations among delinquency, positive alcohol expectancies, and alcohol involvement is different in younger versus older children and White, African American, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic youths but is similar in boys versus girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer influences and drug use among urban adolescents: Family structure and parent–adolescent relationship as protective factors.

The moderating influences of family structure and parent–adolescent distress on the relationship between peer variables and drug use were examined in a predominantly African American sample of 630 10th graders at 9 urban high schools. Both peer pressure and peer drug use were significantly related to the reported frequency of drug use. The relationship between peer pressure and drug use was stronger among girls than boys, and also among adolescents in families without fathers or stepfathers. The association between peer pressure and drug use also increased as a function of the level of mother–adolescent distress among adolescents who were not living with fathers or stepfathers. Neither gender nor family structure moderated the relationship between peer drug models and drug use. However, the association between peer drug models and drug use increased as a function of the level of mother–adolescent distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of attachment to family, school, and peers in adolescents’ use of alcohol: A longitudinal study of within-person and between-persons effects.

A great deal of time and money has been spent to understand why adolescents abuse alcohol. Some of the most fruitful work considers the social context navigated by adolescents, including family, school, and peer contexts. However, most of this work focuses on differences between adolescents in these contexts. The present study adds to the literature by considering within-person changes in these contexts and examines the extent to which these changes are related to alcohol use. Significant changes in all 3 contexts were observed, and these changes were significantly related to alcohol use. The significant influence of intrapersonal variability highlights the importance of attending not only to chronic, between-individual issues facing at-risk youths but emergent and transient issues that may temporarily heighten alcohol use risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good self-control as a buffering agent for adolescent substance use: An investigation in early adolescence with time-varying covariates.

This study tested the prediction that self-control would have buffering effects for adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) with regard to 3 risk factors: family life events, adolescent life events, and peer substance use. Participants were a sample of public school students (N = 1,767) who were surveyed at 4 yearly intervals between 6th grade and 9th grade. Good self-control was assessed with multiple indicators (e.g., planning and problem solving). Results showed that the impact of all 3 risk factors on substance use was reduced among persons with higher scores on good self-control. Buffering was found in cross-sectional analyses with multiple regression and in longitudinal analyses in a latent growth model with time-varying covariates. Implications for addressing self-control in prevention programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Strong African American Families Program: A cluster-randomized prevention trial of long-term effects and a mediational model.

The Strong African American Families Program, a universal preventive intervention to deter alcohol use among rural African American adolescents, was evaluated in a cluster-randomized prevention trial. This 7-week family skills training program is based on a contextual model in which intervention effects on youth protective factors lead to changes in alcohol use. African American 11-year-olds and their primary caregivers from 9 rural communities (N = 332 families) were randomly selected for study participation. Communities were randomized to prevention and control conditions. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that fewer prevention than control adolescents initiated alcohol use; those who did evinced slower increases in use over time. Intervention-induced changes in youth protective factors mediated the effect of group assignment on long-term changes in use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use Disorders and Personality Disorder Symptoms.

In a nonclinical sample of 395 young adults, the authors evaluated the relations between major personality traits, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) personality disorder symptoms, and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Consistent with previous findings, traits related to disinhibition and negative affectivity were consistently associated with AUDs, as were Cluster B personality disorder symptoms (especially antisocial and borderline disorder symptoms). Multivariate analyses revealed that Cluster B symptoms were significantly associated with AUDs above and beyond what was accounted for by personality traits. Further, the authors found differential patterns of relations between other substance use disorders (SUDs; i.e., tobacco dependence and drug use diagnoses) and personality disorder symptoms. Overall, these results suggest that personality disorder symptoms predict unique variance in SUDs that reflect maladaptive aspects of personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thinking and drinking: Alcohol-related cognitions across stages of adolescent alcohol involvement.

Alcohol-related cognitions, particularly expectancies for drinking and nondrinking and motives for nondrinking, are involved in the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of alcohol use and are hypothesized to play key roles in adolescent decision making. This study explored (a) the relationships between alcohol use expectancies, nondrinking expectancies, and nondrinking motives; (b) the roles of these cognitions across hypothesized developmental stages of adolescent alcohol use; and (c) the relationships between these cognitions and recent or intended future changes in drinking behavior in a cross-sectional sample. Surveys assessing alcohol use behaviors and attitudes were administered to 1,648 high school students. Heavier drinkers reported more positive alcohol use expectancies and fewer nondrinking motives than did lighter drinkers or nondrinkers; however, nondrinking expectancies only differed between nondrinkers and rare drinkers and all subsequent drinking classes. Alcohol use expectancies, nondrinking expectancies, and nondrinking motives differentiated students who recently initiated alcohol from those who had not, while nondrinking expectancies and nondrinking motives differentiated binge-drinking students who had made recent efforts to reduce/stop their drinking from those who had not. Intentions to initiate or reduce drinking in the coming month were also associated with these alcohol-related cognitions. Drinking and nondrinking expectancies and motives for not drinking may play critical roles in decisions to alter alcohol-use behavior during adolescence. Future exploration of temporal relationships between changes in alcohol-related cognitions and behavioral decision making will be useful in the refinement of effective prevention and intervention strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived competencies, peer group affiliation, and risk behavior among early adolescents.

This study examined the role of self-esteem and peer group membership in risk behavior among 183 8th graders in a multiethnic school. The hypothesis was that domain-specific rather than global self-esteem would be associated with "crowd" membership that in turn would be related to risk behavior. Data were gathered through informant interviews and individual surveys. Domain-specific self-esteem was related to crowd affiliation as well as to alcohol and cigarette use; global self-esteem was not related. Crowd affiliation related to alcohol use and sexual behavior after controlling for the effects of demographic and self-esteem variables, but crowd membership did not fully mediate the relationship between self-esteem and risk behavior. Availability of alcohol and cigarettes mediated the relationship between crowd affiliation and use of these substances. Findings support growing evidence that multiple adolescent peer groups exist and that group membership is closely tied to behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of Parent Support and Peer Support in Adolescent Substance Use: A Test of Mediated Effects.

This research tested comparative effects of parent and peer support on adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) with data from 2 assessments of a multiethnic sample of 1,826 adolescents, mean age 12.3 years. Multiple regression analyses indicated that parental support was inversely related to substance use and that peer support was positively related to substance use, as a suppression effect. Structural modeling analyses indicated that effects of support were mediated through pathways involving good self-control, poor self-control, and risk-taking tendency; parent and peer support had different patterns of relations to these mediators. The mediators had pathways to substance use through positive and negative recent events and through peer affiliations. Effects for gender and ethnicity were also noted. Mechanisms of operation for parent and peer support are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good self-control moderates the effect of mass media on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use: Tests with studies of children and adolescents.

Objective: To investigate whether self-control moderates the effect of media influences on tobacco and alcohol use among youth and if so how this effect occurs. Design: In Study 1, a regional sample of 10-year olds (N = 290) was interviewed in households; attention to tobacco/alcohol advertising was assessed. In Study 2, a national sample of youth ages 10–14 years (N = 6,522) was surveyed by telephone; exposure to tobacco/alcohol use in movies was assessed. Good self-control was measured in both studies. Main Outcome Measures: Willingness to use substances and affiliation with peer substance users (Study 1); involvement in smoking or drinking (Study 2). Results: In Study 1, the effect of tobacco/alcohol advertising on predisposition for substance use was lower among persons scoring higher on good self-control. In Study 2, the effect of movie smoking/alcohol exposure on adolescent tobacco/alcohol use was lower, concurrently and prospectively, among persons scoring higher on good self-control. Moderation occurred primarily through reducing the effect of movie exposure on positive smoking/alcohol expectancies and the effect of expectancies on adolescent use; some evidence for moderation of social processes was also noted. Covariates in the analyses included demographics, sensation seeking, and IQ. Conclusion: Good self-control reduces the effect of adverse media influences on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Findings on the processes underlying this effect may be useful for media literacy and primary prevention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer and adolescent substance use among 6th–9th Graders: Latent growth analyses of influence versus selection mechanisms.

This study analyzed peer-influence versus peer-selection mechanisms in adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Participants were surveyed 3 times, with 1-year intervals, about peers' substance use and their own use; Sample 1 had 1,190 participants (initial mean age?=?12.4 years), Sample 2 had 1,277 participants (initial mean age?=?11.5 years). Latent growth analyses that were based on composite scores indicated that initial peer use was positively related to rate of change in adolescent use, supporting the influence mechanism; there was little evidence for a selection mechanism. Difficult temperament, poor self-control, and deviance-prone attitudes were related to initial levels for both peer and adolescent use. It is concluded that peer influence is the primary mechanism during middle adolescence. Temperament related attributes may be predisposing to early experimentation and deviant-peer affiliations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic pride and self-control related to protective and risk factors: Test of the theoretical model for the strong African American families program.

Objective. To test a theoretical model of how ethnic pride and self-control are related to risk and protective factors. Design. A community sample of 670 African American youth (mean age = 11.2 years) were interviewed in households. Main Outcome Measures. Measures of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and sexual behavior (lifetime to past month). Results. Structural modeling analyses indicated parenting was related to self-control and self-esteem, and racial socialization was related to ethnic pride. Self-control and self-esteem variables were related to levels of deviance-prone attitudes and to perceptions of engagers in, or abstainers from, substance use and sexual behavior. The proximal factors (behavioral willingness, resistance efficacy, and peer behavior) had substantial relations to the criterion variables. Participant gender and parental education also had several paths in the model. Results were generally similar for the 2 outcome behaviors. Conclusions. In this population, self-esteem and self-control are related to parenting approaches and have pathways to attitudes and social perceptions that are significant factors for predisposing to, or protecting against, early involvement in substance use and sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risky drinking in college changes as fraternity/sorority affiliation changes: A person-environment perspective.

This study aimed to resolve the direction of the relation between Greek affiliation and substance use by taking advantage of the quasi-experimental nature of change in college fraternity/sorority affiliation. Precollege individual differences and college substance use were examined as a function of time-varying Greek status to characterize self-selection (by which heavy substance users opt into Greek systems) and socialization (by which Greek systems foster heavy substance use). Prospective data on continuously enrolled college students (N=2,376), assessed at precollege and in the first 6 semesters of college, were used. Latent class analysis indicated 4 discrete groups of status: constant Greek members (30%), constant nonmembers (64%), late joiners (2%), and droppers (4%). Random coefficient models demonstrated disaffiliation with Greek systems is associated with decreases in risky drinking and alcohol-conducive environmental factors (peer norms and alcohol availability), whereas affiliation is associated with increases, indicating Greek socialization via sociocognitive and physical environments. Future Greeks differed from nonmembers in diverse individual characteristics and heavier substance use at precollege, suggesting multiple selection paths into Greek systems. Findings suggest a reciprocal relation between Greek environment and individuals in determining the trajectories of college drinking and heterogeneity in drinking as functions of changes in Greek affiliation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)