Parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent cannabis use: A growth curve analysis

Abstract

Background: Adolescent cannabis misuse may be associated with serious academic, conduct, and health problems. Identifying factors associated with adolescent cannabis misuse over time may provide insight to address these factors in interventions. Parent-adolescent relationship characteristics (i.e., attachment, discipline) have been linked to adolescent cannabis misuse and may be important factors to study. Objectives: We investigated time-varying associations between parent-adolescent relationship domains and weekly adolescent-reported cannabis misuse. We hypothesized that during times when parents reported less positive aspects of their relationship with their adolescents, adolescents would report higher levels of cannabis misuse. Methods: Data were drawn from a community clinic treatment study for adolescents with substance use and co-occurring psychiatric disorders (n=110; average age=15.71; 57.3% male). Latent growth modeling with time-varying predictors (parent-adolescent relationship characteristics) was used to examine if the associations between adolescent cannabis misuse and relational frustration, discipline, and attachment varied across the study period (baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-months). Results: Weekly cannabis misuse significantly increased over time, even after accounting for parental relationship characteristics. When parents rated higher levels of relational frustration relative to their average level of frustration, adolescents reported higher cannabis misuse at all study periods except 12-month follow-up. Conclusion: Results support the importance of considering how specific aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship, in this case elevated parental frustration, are associated with adolescent cannabis misuse during treatment and after its completion. Findings suggest parental relationship frustration is a key factor to assess and address within individually tailored interventions for co-occurring cannabis misuse and psychiatric disorders.

Associations between parenting characteristics and adolescent substance use: A genetically informed, longitudinal adoption study

“…Various aspects of parent-child relationships in later childhood and adolescence are also associated with adolescent substance use over time (Andrews et al, 1997;Dembo et al, 1986;Drapela & Mosher, 2007;Fleming et al, 1998;Foshee & Bauman, 1992;Neighbors et al, 2000;Tilson et al, 2004;Yap et al, 2017). Low parent-child bonding and attachment have been related to marijuana (Bailey & Hubbard, 1990;Fleming et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 2020), alcohol (Costa et al, 1999;Fleming et al, 1998;Ryan et al, 2010review;Selnow, 1987;Wang et al, 2012), and other drug use (Fleming et al, 1998;Kandel et al, 1978). Overall, positive relationships with parents might protect adolescents from engaging in unconventional behaviors such as illegal substance use because parents typically exercise control against norm-violating behavior (Drapela & Mosher, 2007;Jessor et al, 1998).…”