Impact of parental substance use on adolescents: a test of a mediational model

Tested a mediational model of the relationship between parental substance use and adolescents' substance (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana) use with data from a sample of 1,775 adolescents, mean age 13.3 years, who completed a questionnaire including constructs from three theories of substance use. Mediational analyses identified five constructs involved in the relationship of parental and adolescent use. A structural model with latent constructs for substance use showed indirect effects of parental substance use through greater tolerance for deviance, lower behavioral control, greater perceived coping function of substance use, more negative life events, and more affiliation with peer users, plus a direct effect. Implications for the theory of transmission of risk are considered.