Adolescent substance use: preliminary examinations of school and neighborhood context.

In considering the influences of microsystems on adolescent substance use, familial and peer contexts have received the most extensive attention in the research literature. School and neighborhood settings, however, are other developmental contexts that may exert specific influences on adolescent substance use. In many instances, school settings are organized to provide educational services to students who share similar educational abilities and behavioral repertoires. The resulting segregation of students into these settings may result in different school norms for substance use. Similarly, neighborhood resources, including models for substance use and drug sales involvement, may play an important role in adolescent substance use. We briefly review literature examining contextual influences on adolescent substance use, and present results from two preliminary studies examining the contribution of school and neighborhood context to adolescent substance use. In the first investigation, we examine the impact of familial, peer, and school contexts on adolescent substance use. Respondents were 283 students (ages 13 to 18) from regular and special education classrooms in six schools. Although peer and parental contexts were important predictors of substance use, school norms for drug use accounted for variance in adolescent use beyond that explained by peer and parental norms. Data from a second study of 114 adolescents (mean age = 15) examines neighborhood contributions to adolescent substance use. In this sample, neighborhood indices did not contribute to our understanding of adolescent substance use. Implications for prevention are presented.

Age norms, the timing of family role transitions, and intergenerational caregiving among aging African American women.

This article reports findings from two exploratory qualitative studies of the relationship between age norms, family role transitions, and the caregiving responsibilities of mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers in multigeneration African American families. Families defined as having "normative on-time" transitions (n = 23) to the roles of mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were compared to families that were classified as having "early non-normative" (n = 18), and "early normative" transitions to the respective roles (n = 20). Results indicate that both the "on-time" and "early" normative transition families had an equitable distribution of caregiving duties for women across generations. In families where the transitions to mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were considered "early" non-normative, the responsibilities for family caregiving were centered in the young great-grandparent generation. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Black grandparents rearing children of drug-addicted parents: stressors, outcomes, and social service needs.

This article reports findings from two qualitative studies of black grandparents and great-grandparents who are rearing their children's children as a consequence of parental drug addiction. Data were collected in two urban black communities from 60 grandmothers, grandfathers, and great-grandmothers (ages 43-82). Only 3% of the respondents received consistent, reliable familial support in their role as surrogate parents. Although respondents found parenting their grandchildren an emotionally rewarding experience, they also incurred psychological, physical, and economic costs in performing their roles.

Teenage childbearing as an alternative life-course strategy in multigeneration black families.

This paper summarizes the findings of a three-year exploratory qualitative study of teenage childbearing in 20 low-income multigeneration black families. Teenage childbearing in these families is part of an alternative life-course strategy created in response to socioenvironmental constraints. This alternative life-course strategy is characterized by an accelerated family timetable; the separation of reproduction and marriage; an age-condensed generational family structure; and a grandparental child-rearing system. The implications of these patterns for intergenerational family roles are discussed.