The association of family and peer factors with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among Chilean adolescents in neighborhood context

Research on adolescent use of substances has long sought to understand the family factors that may be associated with use of different substances such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. However, scant attention has been focused on these questions in Latin American contexts, despite growing concerns about substance use among Latin American youth. Using data from a sample of 866 Chilean youth, we examined the relationship of family and neighborhood factors with youth substance abuse. We found that in a Latin American context access to substances is an important predictor of use, but that neighborhood effects differ for marijuana use as opposed to cigarettes or alcohol. Age of youth, family and peer relationships, and gender all play significant roles of substance use.The study findings provide additional evidence that the use of substances is complex whereby individual, family, and community influences must be considered jointly to prevent or reduce substance use among adolescents.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249750/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249750/Accepted manuscrip

Family and parenting characteristics associated with marijuana use by Chilean adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Family involvement and several characteristics of parenting have been suggested to be protective factors for adolescent substance use. Some parenting behaviors may have stronger relationships with adolescent behavior while others may have associations with undesirable behavior among youth. Although it is generally acknowledged that families play an important role in the lives of Chilean adolescents, scant research exists on how different family and parenting factors may be associated with marijuana use and related problems in this population which has one of the highest rates of drug use in Latin America. METHODS: Using logistic regression and negative binomial regression, we examined whether a large number of family and parenting variables were associated with the possibility of Chilean adolescents ever using marijuana, and with marijuana-related problems. Analyses controlled for a number of demographic and peer-related variables. RESULTS: Controlling for other parenting and family variables, adolescent reports of parental marijuana use showed a significant and positive association with adolescent marijuana use. The multivariate models also revealed that harsh parenting by fathers was the only family variable associated with the number of marijuana-related problems youth experienced. CONCLUSION: Of all the family and parenting variables studied, perceptions of parental use of marijuana and harsh parenting by fathers were predictors for marijuana use, and the experience of marijuana-related problems. Prevention interventions need to continue emphasizing the critical socializing role that parental behavior plays in their children's development and potential use of marijuana.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109755/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109755/Accepted manuscrip

Alcohol consumption among Chilean adolescents: examining individual, peer, parenting and environmental factors

AIMS: This study examined whether adolescents from Santiago, Chile who had never drunk alcohol differed from those who had drunk alcohol but who had never experienced an alcohol-related problem, as well as from those who had drunk and who had experienced at least one alcohol-related problem on a number of variables from four domains - individual, peers, parenting, and environmental. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Community based sample. PARTICIPANTS: 909 adolescents from Santiago, Chile. MEASUREMENTS: Data were analyzed with multinomial logistic regression to compare adolescents who had never drunk alcohol (non-drinkers) with i) those that had drunk but who had experienced no alcohol-related problems (non-problematic drinkers) and ii) those who had drunk alcohol and had experienced at least one alcohol-related problem (problematic drinkers). The analyses included individual, peer, parenting, and environmental factors while controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. FINDINGS: Compared to non-drinkers, both non-problematic and problematic drinkers were older, reported having more friends who drank alcohol, greater exposure to alcohol ads, lower levels of parental monitoring, and more risk-taking behaviors. In addition, problematic drinkers placed less importance on religious faith to make daily life decisions and had higher perceptions of neighborhood crime than non-drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention programs aimed at decreasing problematic drinking could benefit from drawing upon adolescents' spiritual sources of strength, reinforcing parental tools to monitor their adolescents, and improving environmental and neighborhood conditions.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901364/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901364/Accepted manuscrip

Examining the factor structure of anxiety and depression symptom items among adolescents in Santiago, Chile

The co-occurrence of emotional disorders among adolescents has received considerable empirical attention. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of co-occurring anxiety and depression by examining the factor structure of the Youth Self-Report used with a sample of low-income adolescents from Santiago, Chile. Data from two independent, randomly selected subsamples were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicate the best fit for the data is a two-factor model of anxiety and depression symptoms, which factors anxiety and depression into separate latent constructs. Because the findings show that anxiety and depression are not measured by the same factor in this international sample, the results imply that a valid and useful distinction exists between these constructs. That these constructs are found to be separate factors suggests that anxiety and depression may have separate etiologies and consequences, which might be best addressed by separate intervention components. These findings are consistent with the viewpoint that anxiety and depression constructs have similar emotional features and, despite sharing a common underlying internalizing disorder, distinct items capture aspects of each construct.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140221/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140221/Accepted manuscrip

Personality and parenting processes associated with problem behaviors: a study of adolescents in Santiago, Chile

Considerable research in the U.S. has established that adolescent antisocial, aggressive, and attention problems have a negative influence on adolescents' ability to become productive members of society. However, although these behaviors appear in other cultures, little is known about the development of these problems among adolescents in countries other than the U.S.. This study contributes to our understanding of personality and parenting factors associated with adolescent problem behaviors using an international sample. Data are from a NIDA-funded study of 884 community-dwelling adolescents in Santiago, Chile (Mean age=14, SD=1.4, 48% females) of mid-to-low socioeconomic status. Results revealed that rule-breaking and aggressive behaviors were both associated with greater levels of adolescent drive but lower levels of parental monitoring and positive parenting by both parents. Adolescents who reported more attention problems were more likely to exhibit driven behavior, more behavioral inhibition, to report lower levels of parental monitoring, and positive parenting by mother and father. Results of interactions revealed that the influences of positive parenting and parental monitoring on adolescent aggressive behaviors varied as a function of the gender of the adolescent. Helping parents build on their parenting skills may result in important reductions in adolescent problem behaviors among U.S. and international adolescents.R01 HD033487 - NICHD NIH HHS; R01 DA021181 - NIDA NIH HHS; R01 DA021181-04 - NIDA NIH HH

Gender differences in predictors of self-reported physical aggression: exploring theoretically relevant dimensions among adolescents from Santiago, Chile

Research findings remain unclear on whether different factors predict aggression for adolescent men and women. Given that aggression research is rarely conducted with Latin American populations, the current study used multiple imputation and linear regression to assess gender differences in levels and predictors of self-reported physical aggression among a community sample of young (ages 11 through 17) men (n=504) and women (n = 471) from Santiago, Chile. Results revealed that adolescent women reported engaging in higher levels of physical aggression than men. The variables found to be significantly associated with higher levels of reported aggression—younger age, less family involvement, less parental control, less positive relationships with caregivers, having more friends who act out and use substances, having fewer friends committed to learning, presence of dating violence, and more exposure to neighborhood crime—were not moderated by gender, implying that similar factors are related to aggression in adolescent men and women from Chile. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts to address high-risk adolescents and reduce aggression among Chilean youth are discussed.http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC3876925&blobtype=pdfAccepted manuscrip

Relationship between discordance in parental monitoring and behavioral problems among Chilean adolescents

This study investigated the role of discrepancies between parent and youth reports of perceived parental monitoring in adolescent problem behaviors with a Chilean sample (N= 850). Higher levels of discordance concerning parental monitoring predicted greater levels of maladaptive youth behaviors. A positive association between parent-youth discordance and externalizing problems indicated that large adult-youth disagreement in parental monitoring may impose a great risk, despite protective efforts of parental monitoring. Although the direct relationship between parental monitoring and youth internalizing behaviors was not significant, parent-youth incongruence in monitoring was associated with greater levels of internalizing behaviors. Therefore, differing assessments of parental behaviors, as an indicator of less optimal family functioning, may provide important information about youth maladjustment and may potentially provide a beginning point for family-focused intervention.R01 DA021181 - NIDA NIH HHS; R01 DA021181-05 - NIDA NIH HHS; R01 HD033487 - NICHD NIH HH

Examining the quality of adolescent–parent relationships among Chilean families

The purpose of this study was to examine if adolescents reports of warm and harsh parenting practices by their mothers and fathers varied as a function of demographic, youth and their mothers or mother figures' individual and family characteristics. Data are from 707 community-dwelling adolescents (mean age=14, SD=1.4) and their mothers or mother figures in Santiago, Chile. Having a warmer relationship with both parents was inversely associated with the adolescents' age and positively associated with adolescents' family involvement and parental monitoring. Both mothers' and fathers' harsh parenting were positively associated with adolescent externalizing behaviors and being male and inversely associated with youth autonomy and family involvement. These findings suggest that net of adolescent developmental emancipation and adolescent behavioral problems, positive relationships with parents, especially fathers, may be nurtured through parental monitoring and creation of an interactive family environment, and can help to foster positive developmental outcomes.http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC3839673&blobtype=pdfAccepted manuscrip

Developmental changes in genetic and shared environmental contributions to smoking initiation and subsequent smoking quantity in adolescence and young adulthood

Background Few studies examining the genetic architecture of cigarette smoking have focused on adolescents or examined developmental changes in additive genetic, shared environment and unique environmental influences on liability to initiate cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked. The aim of this study is to add to the literature on liability to initiate and use cigarettes during adolescence using a nationally representative sample. Method Data for this study came from adolescent and young adult twin pairs (ages 14-33) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We ran a series of developmental causal-contingent-common pathway models to examine whether additive genetic, shared and unique environmental influences on liability to the initiation of cigarette use are shared with those on smoking quantity, and whether their contributions change across development. Results We found evidence for a developmental shift in genetic and shared environmental contributions to cigarette use. Early in adolescence genetic and environmental influences work independently on liability to cigarette smoking initiation and quantity of cigarettes smoked, but liability to these behaviors becomes correlated as individuals age into young adulthood. Conclusions These findings provide insight into the causal processes underlying the liability to smoke cigarettes. With age, there is greater overlap in the genetic and environmental factors that influence the initiation of cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked