The impact of substance use during middle school and young adulthood on parent-young adult relationships.

Sharp increases in substance use and other risk behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood threaten the quality of the parent-child relationship, a critical context for positive adjustment and well-being. There is a dearth of research, however, on the influence of adolescent and young adult substance use on the parent-young adult relationship. Study aims were to examine longitudinally the associations between classes of adolescent and young adult alcohol and marijuana use, and the impact of alcohol and marijuana use on parent-young adult relationship dynamics and quality. We analyzed longitudinal data collected with a socioeconomically and racially diverse urban community sample of 593 parents and their children over 6 years to identify latent classes of growth in adolescent alcohol and marijuana use, and test for differences in young adult alcohol and marijuana use and parent-young adult relationship quality by latent classes. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) alcohol and marijuana use during the middle school years predicted adult alcohol and marijuana use during young adulthood; (b) high-risk alcohol and marijuana use, specifically, was associated with poorer parent-young adult relationship quality; (c) initiation of marijuana use during young adulthood was also associated with poorer parent-young adult relationship quality; and (d) for minority youth in all alcohol risk classes, parent-young adult relationship quality was lower. Results show that growth in alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence, and initiation of marijuana use later in young adulthood, exert unique, detrimental effects on parent-young adult relationship quality. Implications for future research and prevention and intervention development for young adults are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Effectiveness evaluation of the Positive Family Support intervention: A three-tiered public health delivery model for middle schools.

This article presents the results of an evaluation of Positive Family Support, an ecological family intervention and treatment approach to parent supports and family management training developed from a history of basic and translational research. This effectiveness trial, with 41 public middle schools randomly assigned to intervention or control, examined student-, teacher-, and parent-reported outcomes, as well as math and reading scores and school attendance. Multilevel analyses suggested that for students at risk for behavior problems, immediate-intervention schools outperformed control schools on parent-reported negative school contacts for students at risk for behavior problems. Implementation, however, was hampered by several challenges, including school funding cuts, lack of staff time to provide parenting supports, and staff turnover. Given that preventive interventions are generally cost effective, it is critical that researchers continue their efforts to refine these interventions and find ways to support schools' implementation of evidence-based programs that can reduce problem behavior. This article is part of a special issue "Parental Engagement in School-Based Interventions".

Psychosocial Adjustment and Substance Use of Cambodian and Vietnamese Immigrant Youth.

Southeast Asians living in the United States are a unique Asian immigrant population. They are considered one of the "newer" Asian immigrant groups, tend to be less affluent compared with their East and South Asian counterparts, and are steadily growing in number (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Unfortunately, few studies exist specifically about Southeast Asian immigrants. The lack of studies, coupled with the community's growing mental health issues, suggests the need for increased research on this population. This study contributes to the literature by examining the extent to which identification with Vietnamese or Cambodian culture, peer relationships, and coping behaviors affect substance use among Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrant youth. A sample of 102 participants, age 12-18 years, completed self-report measures regarding these variables. Overall, results indicate that identification with one's culture of origin and coping behaviors moderate the relationship between deviant peer association and substance use. Results are discussed within a contextual model of problem behavior among Southeast Asian youth.