National Trends in Parental Communication With Their Teenage Children About the Dangers of Substance Use, 2002-2016

The Journal of Primary Prevention
Christopher P Salas-WrightTrenette Clark Goings

Abstract

Parental engagement is critical to adolescent substance use prevention. However, our understanding of the degree to which parents are actually talking to their children about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs remains limited. The present study provides new evidence on the prevalence and trends of parental substance use communication (PSC) in the United States between 2002 and 2016. Trend analyses were conducted using 15 years of cross-sectional survey data from non-Hispanic White (n = 153,087), Black/African American (n = 35,216), and Hispanic (n = 45,780) adolescents aged 12-17 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Since the early-to-mid 2000s, the rate of past-year PSC declined significantly, even when accounting for sociodemographic factors. We observed particularly noteworthy declines among adolescents residing in households earning less than $20,000 per year, declining by 19% (in relative terms) from a high of 58% PSC in 2003 and 2008 to a low of 47% in 2016. Teens reporting PSC reported higher levels of perceived parental warmth/engagement and consistent discipline/limit setting. Findings underscore the importance of engaging parents, particularly those less likely to talk to their children about substance use, and p...Continue Reading

References

Oct 22, 2002·Prevention Science : the Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research·Thomas J DishionNoah K Kaufman
Apr 30, 2013·Journal of Adolescence·Michael G VaughnArnelyn Abdon
Feb 24, 2015·Addictive Behaviors·Christopher P Salas-WrightJelena Todic
Oct 27, 2015·JAMA Psychiatry·Deborah S HasinBridget F Grant
Apr 21, 2017·American Journal of Public Health·Christopher P Salas-WrightDavid Córdova
Jan 10, 2018·Substance Use & Misuse·Michael G VaughnKatie J Holzer

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