Exploring the Effects of Paternal Incarceration on Substance Use Among Racially Minoritized Adolescents

• In Event: 1 Substance Use, Misuse and Addiction: A Roundtables Session

Abstract

This study examines how paternal incarceration shapes adolescent substances use behaviors over time. While existing research largely focuses on the effects of parental incarceration at a single point in time, far fewer studies examine how exposure to paternal incarceration during childhood generates long-term stress that increases substance use risk in adolescence. Addressing this gap, the study adopts a life-course perspective to examine the lasting consequences of early paternal incarceration on adolescent health behaviors. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWS), this research analyzes how paternal incarceration and fathers’ absence from the household influence adolescents’ use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs. The analytic sample consists of 2,427 adolescents who reported substance use outcomes at age 15, with paternal incarceration measured by age 9. I used logistic regression models to assess the association between paternal incarceration and adolescent substance use, controlling race/ethnicity, gender, maternal income, age. All substance use outcomes were measured as binary indicators based on adolescents’ self-reports.
Findings indicate that paternal incarceration is significantly associated with increased substance use, particularly tobacco and marijuana. Adolescents with incarcerated fathers were 43% more likely to use tobacco and 53% more likely to use marijuana compared to their peers without incarcerated fathers. Although associations with alcohol and illicit drug use were positive, they did not reach statistical significance. Racial and socioeconomic disparities were also evident, highlighting broader patterns of inequality. This study demonstrates the cumulative impact of paternal incarceration and structural disadvantages on adolescent substance use. This research contributes to life-course perspectives by showing how early family disruption shapes behavioral patterns and family relationship

Authors

• RAFIA AKTER, Texas A&M University

• Heili Pals, Texas A&M University