title: Parenting and later substance use among Mexican-origin youth: Moderation by preference for a common language.
abstract: The primary goal of the current study was to test whether parent and adolescent preference for a common language moderates the association between parenting and rank-order change over time in offspring substance use. A sample of Mexican-origin 7th-grade adolescents (Mage = 12.5 years, N = 194, 52% female) was measured longitudinally on use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents all reported on consistent discipline and monitoring of adolescents. Both consistent discipline and monitoring predicted relative decreases in substance use into early adulthood but only among parent-offspring dyads who expressed preference for the same language (either English or Spanish). This moderation held after controlling for parent substance use, family structure, having completed schooling in Mexico, years lived in the United States, family income, and cultural values. An unintended consequence of the immigration process may be the loss of parenting effectiveness that is normally present when parents and adolescents prefer to communicate in a common language. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Fresno State University.
authors.forename: Rosa I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Toro
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.
authors.forename: Ross D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Parke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University.
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Cookston
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arizona State University.
authors.forename: William V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Fabricius
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Oregon.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coltrane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001130:Arizona; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D019303:Multilingualism; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult