Suzanne H. W. Mares

Parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and alcohol-specific attitudes, alcohol-specific communication, and adolescent excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems: An indirect path model

Alcohol-specific parent-child communication has often been studied in relation to regular alcohol use of adolescents. However, it might be as important to focus on adolescent problematic alcohol use. In addition, the way parents communicate with their children about alcohol might depend on their own (problematic) drinking behaviors. Therefore, the current study examined the direct effects of parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and parental alcohol-specific attitudes on adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems later in life. It also looked at indirect effects via alcohol-specific communication. The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from two age groups (13 and 15 years old) at T1, who have been surveyed annually for 5 years. We tested the model with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that parental alcohol-related problems were positively associated with communication about alcohol, which in turn was related with less excessive adolescent drinking and alcohol-related problems. Lenient parental attitudes about alcohol and parental alcohol-related problems were directly related to more excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems in adolescents. In conclusion, alcohol-specific communication intervenes in the relationship between parental alcohol-related problems and adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems. This indicates that in family alcohol interventions targeted at youth alcohol use, parental alcohol-related problems should be taken into account.

Parental alcohol-specific rules and alcohol use from early adolescence to young adulthood

BACKGROUND   Several studies stress the importance of alcohol-specific rules during adolescence to prevent them from drinking early and heavily. However, most studies have short follow-up periods and do not cover the relevant developmental period in which direct parental control diminishes and adolescent alcohol use increases. The current study aimed to provide a developmental perspective on the link between alcohol-specific rules and alcohol use from early adolescence until early adulthood in the Netherlands. METHODS   The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from 2 age groups (13 and 15 years old) at Time 1 (T1), who have been surveyed annually for 6 years. To address the effect of alcohol-specific rules on adolescent alcohol use over time, a latent growth curve analytic approach with time-varying covariates was employed. RESULTS   Over time, adolescent alcohol use increased, whereas alcohol-specific rules decreased. Most importantly, however, the lagged paths of alcohol-specific rules consistently predicted subsequent alcohol use across the 6 assessments for both younger and older siblings. Thus, strict alcohol-specific rules at a certain point in time were related to a lower intensity of adolescent alcohol use a year later. CONCLUSIONS   Although parents turn somewhat less strict in alcohol-specific rules over time, and adolescent alcohol use increases over time, the specific rules parents set remain important in restraining the alcohol use of their adolescent offspring. Thus, parents should and can feel confident about their parenting capabilities, and they should maintain being strict to prevent their offspring from drinking.

The Co-Development of Parenting Stress and Childhood Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Although the detrimental influence of parenting stress on child problem behavior is well established, it remains unknown how these constructs affect each other over time. In accordance with a transactional model, this study investigates how the development of internalizing and externalizing problems is related to the development of parenting stress in children aged 4–9. Mothers of 1582 children participated in three one-year interval data waves. Internalizing and externalizing problems as well as parenting stress were assessed by maternal self-report. Interrelated development of parenting with internalizing and externalizing problems was examined using Latent Growth Modeling. Directionality of effects was further investigated by using cross-lagged models. Parenting stress and externalizing problems showed a decrease over time, whereas internalizing problems remained stable. Initial levels of parenting stress were related to initial levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Decreases in parenting stress were related to larger decreases in externalizing problems and to the (stable) course of internalizing problems. Some evidence for reciprocity was found such that externalizing problems were associated with parenting stress and vice versa over time, specifically for boys. Our findings support the transactional model in explaining psychopathology.

Alcohol-specific parenting, adolescent alcohol use and the mediating effect of adolescent alcohol-related cognitions

Objectives : Previous research indicated that alcohol-specific parenting is an important precursor of adolescent alcohol use, but failed to define the underlying mechanism. Based on social cognitive theory, alcohol-related cognitions such as alcohol refusal self-efficacy and alcohol-related expectancies were hypothesised to mediate this link. Design : A cross-sectional survey included 1349 mothers and their sixth grade (11–12 years old) adolescent offspring. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the association between alcohol-specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use, mediated by adolescent alcohol-related cognitions. Main outcome measures : Adolescent alcohol use, drinking refusal self-efficacy and alcohol expectancies. Results : The associations between frequency of communication, maternal alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by negative alcohol-related expectancies. The associations between quality of communication, rules and disclosure and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by self-efficacy. Conclusions : The present study provides a first indication that the underlying mechanism of the association between the most important alcohol-specific parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use can be contributed to the mediating effect of alcohol-refusal self-efficacy.

Facial attractiveness and self-esteem in adolescence.

Facial attractiveness has been associated with many (social) advantages in life, like greater popularity, acceptance, and social competence. Because social evaluations and acceptance are important factors contributing to self-esteem (SE), we hypothesized that high levels of attractiveness would be related to increased levels of SE. To test this assumption, 230 adolescents from two age groups (13 and 15 years) were surveyed annually for 5 years. A latent growth curve model was used to model the influence of facial attractiveness on the development of SE over time. Results showed that younger adolescents with higher levels of attractiveness had lower levels of SE at baseline. Attractiveness was not found to be a significant predictor in explaining the development of SE over time. These findings indicate that attractive children are more likely to have lower levels of SE when they enter early adolescence compared to their less attractive counterparts.

Alcohol expectancies in young children and how this relates to parental alcohol use

According to the cognitive model of intergenerational transference, modeling of alcohol use is an indirect process in which parental drinking shapes alcohol expectancies of children, which in turn are associated with later alcohol use in adolescents. The present study examined whether parental alcohol use was related to alcohol expectancies and experimentation with alcohol use in young children. A community sample of 240 children aged 8.02 (SD=1.13) participated. Alcohol expectancies were assessed by means of the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Children reported consistently and reliably on the positive and negative consequences of alcohol use among adults. Their positive and negative expectancies were equally strong. Compared to younger children, older children had more negative and less positive expectancies. For girls, more paternal alcohol use was associated with less negative alcohol expectancies. For older children, more alcohol use of the mother was related to less positive expectancies, while more alcohol use of the father was related to more positive expectancies. The present study showed that young children already have clear ideas about the positive and negative consequences alcohol can have among adults, which can be captured with the Berkeley Puppet Interview. These expectancies are partly associated with alcohol use of their parents.