Parental Influence on Early Adolescent Substance Use

This study examined both the substance-specific and nonspecific, or generalized, effects of parent substance use, attitudes toward use, and behavior regarding use on adolescent initiation and maintenance of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana use. Data from 645 target adolescents and their parent(s) regarding their own use and parents' attitude, cautionary statements, and negative consequences were used to predict both the onset of using each substance and the transition from use to nonuse during the following year. Results indicated that not only did parents' influence specific to a given substance affect adolescent use of that same substance, but parents `nonspecific or generalized influence predicted the onset and maintenance of other substance use. Furthermore, parent modeling, attitude, cautionary statements, and consequences were all significant predictors of adolescent initiation and maintenance of substance use. Interactions of the parental influence variables with gender, age, and parents' marital status were found. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts are discussed.