Father's influence on his daughter's marijuana use viewed in a mother and peer context

A study of the fathers' impact on their daughters' marijuana use is presented viewed in the context of the mother and the daughters' peer group. Four hundred and three female college student volunteers and their fathers were administered closed-ended questionnaires which included a number of scales assessing various parental and peer characteristics. The results indicated that the domain (set) of paternal variables had a direct impact on daughters' marijuana use independent of the effects of the maternal domain. However, in the case of the peer group, the fathers' effects on daughters' marijuana use were not direct but were mediated through the peer domain. In addition, individual protective (nondrug-conducive) paternal variables served to mitigate the effects of certain maternal and peer risk (drug conductive) factors on the daughters' marijuana use. The findings underscore the importance of identifying those paternal factors that exert an influence on the daughters' marijuana use alone or in combination with other interpersonal (maternal, peer) factors.