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Latent growth curve analyses of parent influences on drinking progression among early adolescents
Bruce Simons-Morton1, Rusan Chen
1Prevention Research Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 6100 Executive Boulevard, 7B13M, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA. Mortonb@mail.nih.gov
Objective:
The nature of parent influences on early adolescent substance use was examined.
Method:
Latent growth curve analyses were used to examine data on a sample of 2,453 adolescents from seven middle schools who were randomized to a problem behavior prevention program or a control condition and were assessed a total of five times during sixth to ninth grade.
Results:
Whereas the growth in the number of friends who drink was positively associated with adolescent drinking, parental involvement, monitoring and expectations over time provided direct protective effects against drinking progression and indirect effects by limiting increases in the number of friends who drink.
Conclusions:
The results provide evidence in a sample of early adolescents that parenting behavior--including involvement, monitoring and expectations--protected against progression in drinking directly as well as indirectly by limiting growth in the number of friends who drink.
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