Developmental, family, and ethnic influences on adolescent alcohol usage: a growth curve approach.

The influence of the developmental process of individuation, family conflict and cohesion, and ethnicity on adolescent alcohol use was examined in a 3-year longitudinal study. Participants included non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and African American adolescents (n = 6,522) from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. They were surveyed annually for 3 years. Depending on which aspect of individuation was measured, hierarchical linear modeling indicated that changes in adolescent individuation were related to either increases or decreases in alcohol use over the 3-year period. Separation and family conflict were related to increases in alcohol use, and intergenerational individuation and family cohesion were related to decreases in alcohol use. White and Mexican American adolescents had a faster rate of increase in alcohol use than did African American youth. Separation and family process similarly influenced adolescent alcohol use from different ethnic groups. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Interactive effects of individuation, family factors, and stress on adolescent alcohol use.

A prospective, school-based study of increasing alcohol use in a multi-ethnic sample of 7,540 adolescents showed that the effects of stress, family conflict, and parental monitoring were differentially moderated by two modes of individuation. The effects of stress were moderated by ethnic status and individuation. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Adolescent individuation and alcohol use in multi-ethnic youth.

OBJECTIVE: A structural equation modeling approach is used to assess adolescent alcohol use as a function of two measures of individuation in the context of other family and peer psychosocial factors for adolescents in three ethnic groups. The separation measure captures aspects of individuation related to detachment or rebelliousness. Intergenerational individuation measures increasing self-reliance and control with maintenance of supportive family bonds. METHOD: A sample of 1,200 sixth through eighth grade black, Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white adolescents participated. A structural equation model describing adolescent alcohol use as a function of two measures of individuation, family conflict, communication with mother, stress and peer use of alcohol was tested and compared for the three ethnic groups. RESULTS: Significant direct and indirect paths to adolescent alcohol use were indicated for individuation measures and family use, peer use and stress variables. The proposed model fit for each of the groups, although the way in which separation related to stress was different in the black group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the role of individuation as a contributing factor in adolescent alcohol use for each ethnic group. They indicate the importance of family and parent-adolescent relationships in adolescent alcohol use and suggest directions for both family-based and school-based preventive interventions.

Intentions to use alcohol among fifth and sixth graders: the roles of social and stress/coping motives.

This study of children in grades five and six assessed the relationship between social and stress/coping motives and students' intentions to drink in junior high school. Whereas the two motives were not seen as separate by fifth graders, they were differentiated by sixth graders, for whom they were associated--social motives more strongly than stress/coping motives--with intentions to use alcohol. Implications for the design and timing of prevention programs are considered.

Self-process in comorbid mental illness and drug abuse.

A theory of social influence is proposed as a framework within which to examine the psychosocial processes that underlie substance abuse among persons with severe mental illness. The theory's potential to account for some of the empirical findings in the mental health and substance abuse literatures is discussed, and implications for research are offered.

Do fifth graders' attitudes and intentions toward alcohol use predict seventh-grade use?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship among children's perceptions of peer and parental attitudes toward alcohol use, fifth graders' attitudes toward alcohol use and intentions to use alcohol in junior high school, and alcohol use of these same children as seventh graders. METHODS: Subjects completed questionnaires as fifth graders that assessed their perception of parents' and peers' attitudes toward alcohol use, children's attitudes toward alcohol use, and intentions to use alcohol in junior high school. They completed a survey in the seventh grade that assessed alcohol use. RESULTS: Path analyses indicated that perceived peer and parental attitudes were directly related to children's fifth-grade attitudes toward alcohol use. Attitudes, in tum, were related to fifth-grade intentions, which were related to seventh-grade alcohol use. Peer and parental attitudes, and children's attitudes as fifth graders, were not directly related to later alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: Peer and parental attitudes toward alcohol use among fifth graders exert an indirect, rather than direct, influence on later alcohol use. Similarly, attitudes of fifth graders influence later alcohol use through their influence on intentions to use alcohol. Prevention programs should be targeted toward younger children prior to initiation of alcohol use and should address both peer and parental influences on attitudes and intentions to use alcohol.