From Parental Depression to Adolescent Substance Use: Developmental Cascade Effects Through Parent and Peer Systems

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

There are well-documented increases in cannabis and alcohol use across adolescence (Johnston et al., 2019), underscoring the importance of identifying developmental pathways that confer risk for adolescent substance use. Developmental cascade models provide a rich theoretical framework in which to study complex and dynamic risk pathways to adolescent substance use. Although the literature documents many risk factors for adolescent substance use, such as externalizing problems, parent alcoholism, and peer deviancy, (Eiden et al., 2016; Lynne-Landsman et al., 2010), few studies have examined cascade pathways by which parental depression may confer risk for adolescent substance use (Sitnick, Shaw, & Hyde, 2014).
Evidence suggests that parental depression may trigger a negative cascade to adolescence substance use that includes poor quality parent-child relationships (Lovejoy et al., 2000) and affiliation with deviant peers, disrupting critical social developmental milestones during adolescence (Ary et al., 1999; Visser, de Winter, & Reijneveld, 2012). There is strong evidence that parental depression leads to poor parent-child relationship quality (Gerdes et al., 2007). Moreover, theory and research suggest that adolescents who have poor relationships with their parents may model learned negative interpersonal skills in their peer relationships, leading to rejection from prosocial peers (De Goede et al., 2009). Rejection by prosocial peers fosters affiliation with deviant adolescents (Dishion et al., 1992), which in turn elevates risk for substance use (Ferguson & Meehan, 2011). Although these individual links are well-established (parental depression to poor parent-child relationship quality, poor parent-child relationship quality to peer deviancy, and peer deviancy to substance use), parental depression as a catalyst for these family and peer system cascade pathways to substance use has not been tested. This is a significant gap in the literature as understanding such risk pathways may inform development of interventions. The current study addresses this gap.
Using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping for testing indirect effects, we tested the prospective association between parental depression and middle adolescent substance use and whether parent-child relationship quality and peer deviancy mediated this relationship. Specifically, parental depression would be related to poor parent-child relationship quality, which would subsequently lead to peer deviancy and then substance use (i.e., double mediation; Figures 1 and 2). We tested these hypotheses for cannabis and alcohol use, and controlled for several important theoretical cofounding variables (e.g., child depression and externalizing behavior, parental alcohol use and antisocial behavior). The indirect effect from parental depression to cannabis use was supported (β = .03, 95% CI [.01, .07]). The indirect effect from parent depression to alcohol use was marginally significant (β = .02, 95% CI [-.003, .07], 90% CI [0.002, 0.06]). Findings emphasize that parental depression may be involved in a cascade to offspring cannabis and alcohol use involving poor parent-child relationships and peer deviancy. Findings support the importance of treating depression in parents as a preventive strategy for adolescent substance use. Furthermore, positive associations between peer deviancy and adolescent substance use, especially cannabis use, corroborate calls to design more effective interventions to address peer contexts that support substance use (Gifford-Smith et al., 2004).

Authors

• Katie Paige, State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)
  Presenting Author

• Nolan Ramer, University at Buffalo
  Non-Presenting Author

• Craig R Colder, State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)
  Non-Presenting Author