Effects of parent personality, upbringing, and marijuana use on the parent-child attachment relationship.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the predictors of the quality of the parent-child attachment relationship among a sample of 248 young adults with children.


METHODS
In this longitudinal study, data were collected during early adulthood in 1992 and in 1996/1997 via a structured questionnaire. Using logistic regression and multiple regression analyses, the authors assessed the extent to which participants' personality attributes, substance use, and relationships with their mothers predicted the quality of the parent-child bond.


RESULTS
Logistic regression models showed that participants with certain personality attributes (e.g., high sensitivity), less frequent marijuana use, or a close relationship with their mothers had a greater likelihood of having a close parent-child attachment relationship with their own children at a later time. Regression analysis also showed that the risk of earlier substance use on the parent-child relationship was offset by protective factors in the parents' personality domain. In addition, protective factors in the various parental domains synergistically interacted with a low frequency of marijuana use, relating to a closer parent-child attachment relationship.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that certain parenting styles are transmitted across generations and interventions in the personality and drug use domains can help increase the likelihood that parents will form close attachment relationships with their own children.
Brook
J S
JS
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York 10029-6574, USA.
Richter
L
L
Whiteman
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009518:New York; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality