Parent–Child Bonding Strengthens the Influence of Perceived Parental Approval or Disapproval of Adolescent Substance Use: Longitudinal Evidence Across Adolescence
Sabrina Oesterle, Linnea Linde-Krieger, Zoe Reep, Isaac C. Rhew, Margaret R. KuklinskiBackground
Perceived parental approval or disapproval of substance use and parent–child bonding are important family influences on adolescent substance use, yet the developmental mechanisms linking these factors to adolescent behavior remain unclear.
Objectives
This study examined whether perceived parental approval or disapproval of substance use influences adolescent substance use through adolescents’ substance use attitudes and whether this indirect association is moderated by parent–child bonding. Developmental differences were also examined.
Design
Prospective longitudinal survey data were collected annually between 2004 and 2011 from 4,407 adolescents in 24 U.S. communities followed from Grades 6 to 12.
Methods
Moderated mediation models with 95% bootstrapped confidence intervals and cluster-robust standard errors examined whether parent-child bonding moderated the indirect association between perceived parental approval or disapproval and adolescent past-month substance use through adolescents’ substance use attitudes across early (Grades 6, 7, and 8) and later (Grades 9, 10, and 12) adolescence. Models adjusted for covariates and prior substance use.
Results
Across both developmental periods, perceived parental approval was associated with more favorable adolescent substance use attitudes, which in turn were associated with more frequent subsequent substance use. Conversely, perceived parental disapproval was associated with less favorable attitudes and less frequent subsequent substance use. Closer parent–child bonds strengthened the association between perceived parental approval or disapproval and adolescents’ attitudes. This moderating effect was stronger during early adolescence, although the mediated pathway was evident across both developmental periods.
Conclusion
Adolescents’ substance use attitudes emerged as a key developmental mechanism linking family socialization processes to subsequent substance use across adolescence. Stronger parent–child bonds can amplify both the protective influence of perceived parental disapproval and the risk associated with perceived parental approval of substance use. Effective prevention and intervention efforts should therefore address both parental substance use norms and parent–child relationships.