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The Association Between Parental Alcohol Use in Early Childhood and Adolescent Alcohol Use

Thompson, Cassandra

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2019, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Sociology.
Adolescent alcohol use is a serious problem that has negative consequences for youths’ well-being. To inform policy makers and practitioners, researchers have identified factors related to adolescent drinking. Although past research has found that maternal excessive alcohol use and parenting practices are strong predictors of adolescent alcohol use, most studies used cross sectional data and rarely examined the influence of maternal alcohol use and parenting practices during early childhood on adolescents’ alcohol use. Using the Year 3 and Year 15 interviews from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this project extends past research by longitudinally examining the association between excessive maternal alcohol use during early childhood and adolescents’ alcohol use at age 15 with special attention to the role of two aspects of mothers’ parenting practices—engagement and warmth. The findings suggest that maternal excessive alcohol use, but not moderate alcohol use, in early childhood is related to adolescents’ alcohol use at age 15. Maternal warmth and engagement in early childhood were not significantly related to adolescents’ alcohol use; and controlling for these types of parenting practices did not change the association between maternal excessive alcohol use in early childhood and adolescents’ alcohol use. When controlling for race, education, number of children, employment status, and marital status, the association was reduced. Adolescents’ current school problems and parents’ current drinking were both associated with adolescents’ alcohol use; and when parental current drinking was controlled for, the effects of maternal excessive drinking in early childhood on adolescent drinking were not significant. These findings suggest that the influence of maternal excessive alcohol use in early childhood on adolescent alcohol use seems to be indirect through increased the odds that adolescents have primary caregivers who drink excessively. Interventions for mothers with young children who drink excessively are warranted.
Kei Nomaguchi, PhD (Advisor)
Monica Longmore, PhD (Committee Member)
Wendy Manning, PhD (Committee Member)
41 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thompson, C. (2019). The Association Between Parental Alcohol Use in Early Childhood and Adolescent Alcohol Use [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1565436272643583

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thompson, Cassandra. The Association Between Parental Alcohol Use in Early Childhood and Adolescent Alcohol Use. 2019. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1565436272643583.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thompson, Cassandra. "The Association Between Parental Alcohol Use in Early Childhood and Adolescent Alcohol Use." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1565436272643583

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)