3-167 - The Intergenerational Transmission of Substance Use: Preventive and Contributing Mechanisms

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The use of alcohol and other drugs has long been recognized as a serious public health issue (CDC, 2010). Although research suggests continuity in substance use from one generation (G1) to the next (G2), little of this research has been conducted with prospective intergenerational studies (Knight et al., 2014). The research presented in this symposium advances this body of research by utilizing data from prospective intergenerational studies to examine mechanisms through which substance use is transferred intergenerationally.

The first paper in the symposium examines the transmission of substance use across two generations of Mexican-American families. The results suggest that G1 substance use initiates a sequential cascade of difficulties involving economic problems, family stress processes and disruptions in parenting, which ultimately impacts G2 adolescent substance use in later adolescence. The second study examines associations between sexual debut and substance use across adolescence among Mexican-origin youth, while considering G1 parental substance use. The results suggest sexual debut as a within-person predictor across several dimensions of substance use. Extensions of these analyses evaluate whether concurrent exposure to parental substance use exacerbates these processes. The final study evaluates the impact of parental alcohol use on adolescent alcohol use from early through late adolescence using data from a community sample of primarily rural White families. The results highlight the role of adolescent delinquency and depression in explaining the influence of G1 alcohol use on G2 adolescent alcohol use.

Together these studies highlight processes that help explain intergenerational continuity and discontinuity in substance use.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Monica J. Martin, Texas Tech University

Individual Presentations

• The Intergenerational Transmission of Substance Use Across Two Generations of Mexican American Families - Presenting Author: Monica J. Martin, Texas Tech University; Non-Presenting Author: Richard W. Robins, University of California, Davis

• Sex, Drugs, and Early Risk: Sexual Debut and Substance Use Across Adolescence - Presenting Author: Angus Clark, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Author: Brent Donnellan, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Emily Durbin, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Amy K Nuttall, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Brian M. Hicks, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Author: Richard W. Robins, University of California, Davis

• Family and Individual Influences on Alcohol Use from Early to Late Adolescence - Presenting Author: Olivia Diggs, Iowa State University; Non-Presenting Author: Tricia K Neppl, Iowa State University; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Bickelhaupt, Iowa State University; Non-Presenting Author: Brenda J. Lohman, Iowa State University