Depressive mood in female college students: father-daughter interactional patterns

The interrelationship of sets of father and daughter factors in explaining depressive mood in normal female adolescents was examined. Separate questionnaires were given to 403 college students and their fathers. A mediational model was found, in which two sets of paternal variables were related to the daughter personality set, which in turn was related to her depressive mood. In addition, protective personality attributes of the daughter served both to offset the impact of paternal risk factors and to further strengthen paternal protective factors to reduce frequency of depressive mood. Comparisons are made with an earlier study of sons' depressive mood (Brook, Brook, Whiteman, & Gordon, 1983).     

Fathers and daughters: their relationship and personality characteristics associated with the daughter's smoking behavior

This study examined the interrelationships of domains (i.e., sets) of paternal personality and father-daughter relationship variables and daughter characteristics and their impact on the daughter's smoking. In addition, the interactive effects of individual father and daughter variables on the daughter's smoking were studied. Female college student volunteers (N = 403) and their fathers were given closed-ended questionnaires that included a number of scales assessing father and daughter characteristics. Results indicated that the domains of father and daughter variables each had a direct impact on the daughter's smoking (an independent model). Interactive findings revealed that daughter protective factors (those conducive to her not smoking) could offset the negative impact of paternal risk factors (those conducive to her smoking), and that, to a lesser extent, daughter protective factors further enhanced the positive effect of father protective variables.     

The consequences of marijuana use on intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning in black and white adolescents

We examined the effects of marijuana use on adolescent personality, attitudinal, and behavioral attributes, perceived parent-adolescent relations, and perceived peer factors. Volunteer high school students (292 Blacks, 401 Whites) of middle-class backgrounds filled out questionnaires in their classrooms first when they were in the 9th and 10th grades and again 2 years later when they were in the 11th and 12th grades. Results suggest that regular use of marijuana may lead to lower achievement, increased tolerance of deviance, and more deviant behavior, and greater rebelliousness. Regular use also appears to interfere with adolescents' relationships with their parents and to lead them to associate with more deviant and drug-using friends. The consequences of marijuana use for intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning were for the most part similar in the different sex and age groups, although there were some ethnic differences.     

Prenatal, perinatal, and early childhood risk factors and drug involvement in adolescence

This study examined prenatal, perinatal, and early childhood risk factors in relation to the etiology of adolescent involvement in cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Over a span of 10 years, data were collected on 638 mainly White mother-child pairs at three points in time: at T1, when the children were 1 to 10 years old; at T2, when they were 9 to 18, and again at T3, when they were 11 to 20. Results showed that the early risks of an unwanted pregnancy and major illness were linked to all of the drug categories except "other illicit drugs." Aspects of mutual attachment in the mother-adolescent relationship were negatively correlated with adolescent drug use. Data on the interrelationship of the domains (i.e., sets of variables) of early risk factors and mother-adolescent relations supported an independent model with respect to cigarette and marijuana involvement, a finding in keeping with results showing that early risk did not significantly affect mother-adolescent relations. However, mother-adolescent protective factors were able to mitigate the impact of early risk factors on adolescent drug involvement.     

A network of influences on adolescent drug involvement: neighborhood, school, peer, and family

The interrelationship of neighborhood, school, peer, and family factors and adolescent drug involvement was investigated. Data were collected separately from 518 adolescents and their mothers when the children were between 9 and 18 years of age and again two years later. Neighborhood and school effects were not directly related to adolescent drug use. Neighborhood effects were mediated through the domains of school, peer, and family; school effects were mediated through the peer domain. Family and peer variables had a direct impact on adolescent drug involvement. Risk factors in the adolescents' peer environment can be ameliorated by protective factors in their school environment. Implications for the prevention of drug use are discussed.     

Transmission of risk factors across three generations

The present study examined the association between the parent-grandmother relationship, the parenting of toddlers, and toddlers' anger. Parent-grandmother relations were assessed when the parents were adolescents. Patient-toddler relations were examined when the toddlers were two years of age. The sample consists of 185 2-yr-old toddlers, one of the parents of each toddler, and the corresponding grandmother of each toddler. The findings support our hypothesis that there would be an indirect effect of the grandmothers' personalities and child-rearing practices on their grandchildren through the influence of the grandmothers on the parents. The influence of both the grandmothers' and the parents' smoking behaviors on the toddlers' anger was mediated by their child-rearing practices. The significance of the findings from a multigenerational study are discussed with reference to incorporating them into prevention programs. The findings are consistent with the notion of the intergenerational transmission of risk factors--from grandparents to parents to toddlers.     

A multiple group psychotherapy approach to adolescents with psychiatric and substance abuse comorbidity.

Multiple group psychotherapy was employed as the primary treatment modality in a day-treatment program as an innovative multifaceted approach to treating adolescents comorbid for psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses. The concurrent educational program included a high school on site. The groups included Substance Abuse Group, which promoted the 12-step model; Health Group; Psychotherapy Group; Leisure Time Group; Self-Awareness Group; and Multiple Family Group. The effect of the multiple groups was to provide a variety of experiences focusing on varied aspects of normal and dysfunctional adolescent development. Together the combination of groups served to strengthen the participants' cohesiveness, communicating skills, and hopefulness.     

Sequences of drug involvement in African-American and Puerto Rican adolescents.

This study examined stages in drug involvement of 695 African-American and 637 Puerto Rican adolescents. Analysis indicated that adolescents progress through several stages of drug involvement: beer/wine, cigarettes or hard liquor, then marijuana, and, finally, illicit drugs other than marijuana. The sequence of drug involvement for both ethnic groups appears to be both unidimensional and cumulative.     

Childhood precursors of adolescent drug use: a longitudinal analysis.

Childhood and adolescent intrapersonal and interpersonal influences on older adolescents' drug use were examined with an interactional approach. Data were obtained when subjects were 5-10, 13-18, and 15-20 years old. Latent-variable confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the fit of the variables to the latent constructs. Next, a structural model was hypothesized and tested to assess the influences of childhood and earlier adolescent factors on later adolescent drug use. Childhood aggression and parental sociopathy affected drug use in late adolescence. Unconventionality during early and middle adolescence had an important and pervasive impact on all aspects of middle and late adolescent functioning. Finally, both intrapersonal and interpersonal factors from childhood and early adolescence affected self-drug use during middle and late adolescence.