The Relations between Perceived Parental Reciprocity, Perceived Parental Approval, and Adolescent Substance Use

The present study examined the additive and interactive associations of 2 parenting variables, Perceived Parental Reciprocity (as measured using the Perception of Parental Reciprocity Scale, POPRS) and Perceived Parental Approval (PPA) of adolescent substance use, with adolescent substance use initiation and escalation. Urban high school students (N = 433) were categorized into abstainers, experimenters, and regular users of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. The confirmatory hypotheses thatfrequency ofsubstance use would be associated (a) positively with PPA and (b) negatively with POPRS were supportedfor all 3 substances. The association with POPRS, however, depended on the stage of substance use and the substance in question. The third hypothesis of an interactive association of POPRS and PPA with frequency of substance use was found only for tobacco; however, the direction of the interaction was the reverse of that expected. Implications of thesefindings andfuture directionsfor research are discussed.