Longitudinally foretelling drug use in the late twenties: adolescent personality and social-environmental antecedents.
This research focuses on the interrelation of the parent-child attachment, unconventionality, friends' drug use, and the young adult's use of drugs. Data were collected from participants at 4 points in time: early adolescence, late adolescence, early 20s, and late 20s. Data were collected from mothers at the 3 points in time that corresponded with the first 3 collections of data from their children. Both the youths and their mothers were individually interviewed. The findings indicated that the effect of parent-child mutual attachment was mediated through early adolescent personality attributes of greater responsibility, less rebelliousness, and intolerance of deviance. These non-drug-prone personality and behavioral attitudes, in turn, insulated the young adult from affiliating with drug-using peers, and these attitudes were related to less drug use in the early 20s and ultimately in the late 20s. The results suggest that interventions focused on enhancing parent-child mutual attachment should result in a reduction of the risk factors conducive to drug use during the late 20s. The fact that these findings cover a decade and a half, from early adolescence to the late 20s, underscores the significance of placing drug use in a perspective that includes familial and behavioral aspects.
Brook
J S
JS
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, USA.
Whiteman
M
M
Finch
S
S
Cohen
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010551:Personality; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012931:Social Environment; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*