Early-onset substance use in African American youth: Risks associated with paternal incarceration and parental relationship dissolution

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

PURPOSE: The link between parental incarceration and negative child outcomes, including early substance use, is well-documented (Shlafer et al., 2013). However, little is known about risk specific to African American children whose fathers are disproportionally represented in correctional facilities relative to other racial/ethnic groups (U.S. Department of Justice, 2019). African American children are also more likely to reside in single-parent homes following parental separation or divorce (Kids Count Data Center, 2020), which is also predictive of early substance use (Jackson et al., 2016). Thus, the goals of the present study were two-fold: first, to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and onset of drinking, smoking, and marijuana use in African American families, and second, to examine potential interactive effects of paternal incarceration and parental relationship dissolution.

METHODS: Data were drawn from African American families (n = 1601) participating in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS; Reichman et al., 2001) of whom 1569 (98%) had data available to code timing of paternal incarceration, parental relationship dissolution, and ages at first use of marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes, the latter assessed of children at age 15. Paternal incarceration was assessed by father and mother reports through child age 9. History of parental relationship dissolution was assessed by mother report soon after childbirth. A series of Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression models were estimated predicting age at first substance use from dummy variables coding for paternal incarceration at child’s birth and at ages 1-3 and 4-9, parental relationship dissolution at child’s birth, and the interaction of paternal incarceration and parental relationship dissolution. All analyses were conducted separately by substance class.

RESULTS: Approximately 60% (n = 935) of fathers in the sample experienced incarceration by self- or parent report, with 87% (n = 1368) of parents separated or divorced at time of childbirth. Approximately 13% (n = 206), 3% (n = 50), and 23% (n = 366) of children reported having used alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, respectively. Children with incarcerated fathers were more likely to initiate substance use than children whose father was not incarcerated (see Figure 1). In Cox models, the association was most pronounced for families where father was incarcerated at time of child’s birth (Hazard Ratios provided in Table 1). Children whose parents were unmarried at time of child’s birth were more likely to initiate use of marijuana (HR = 2.27, 95%CI: 0.31-0.71). Across substance class, the interaction of paternal incarceration and parental relationship dissolution was non-significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Prior research has largely ignored risks of early-onset substance use specific to African American children of incarcerated parents. Results of the current study demonstrate the importance of continued research, including studies to identify underlying mechanisms linking paternal incarceration and early substance use. Findings also highlight the need for more detailed assessment of parental relationship history, taking into consideration potential changes in parental relationships over the course of childhood.

Authors

• Alexis Leigh Pandelios, Indiana University - Bloomington
  Presenting Author

• Mary Waldron, Indiana University-Bloomington
  Non-Presenting Author