title: Deviant Peers as a Mediator of Pubertal Timing-Substance Use Associations: The Moderating Role of Parental Knowledge.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Early perceived pubertal timing and faster maturation have been linked to increased risk of adolescent substance use (SU), particularly for girls, but the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. We sought to replicate and extend findings from Westling et al. (2008) showing that peer deviance mediates the link between early puberty and SU with stronger pathways in the context of low parental knowledge of adolescents' whereabouts and activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 1,023; 52% female, 24% nonwhite, and 12% Hispanic) were recruited through middle schools. Pubertal timing and tempo were derived from repeated measures of perceived pubertal development. Specific sources of parental knowledge included child disclosure and parental solicitation. Two measures of peer deviance (problem behaviors and SU) were obtained. The use of any substances (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs) was coded from all assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For girls, earlier pubertal timing was associated with higher likelihood of SU but only in girls who disclosed less. For boys, slower tempo predicted greater SU, equally across parental knowledge groups. Pubertal timing and tempo were generally not associated with peer deviance; however, we detected a significant indirect effect such that peer problem behavior mediated the association between girls' early pubertal timing and SU. Parental knowledge did not moderate this effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peer deviance was not strongly supported as a mechanism underlying atypical pubertal risk for SU (supported in one of the eight models). Parental knowledge appears to serve as a contextual amplifier of pubertal risk, independent of peer influences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Electronic address: KristineMarceau@Purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marceau
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010379:Peer Group; D011627:Puberty / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
keywords: Parental knowledge; Peer; Pubertal tempo; Pubertal timing; Puberty; Substance use