Developmental Pathways from Parental Socioeconomic Status to Adolescent Substance Use: Alternative and Complementary Reinforcement

Abstract

Although lower socioeconomic status has been linked to increased youth substance use, much less research has determined potential mechanisms explaining the association. The current longitudinal study tested whether alternative (i.e., pleasure gained from activities without any concurrent use of substances) and complementary (i.e., pleasure gained from activities in tandem with substance use) reinforcement mediate the link between lower socioeconomic status and youth substance use. Further, we tested whether alternative and complementary reinforcement and youth substance use gradually unfold over time and then intersect with one another in a cascading manner. Potential sex differences are also examined. Data were drawn from a longitudinal survey of substance use and mental health among high school students in Los Angeles. Data collection involved four semiannual assessment waves beginning in fall 2013 (N = 3395; M baseline age = 14.1; 47% Hispanic, 16.2% Asian, 16.1% multiethnic, 15.7% White, and 5% Black; 53.4% female). The results from a negative binomial path model suggested that lower parental socioeconomic status (i.e., lower parental education) was significantly related to an increased number of substances used by youth. The final path model revealed that the inverse association was statistically mediated by adolescents' diminished engagement in pleasurable substance-free activities (i.e., alternative reinforcers) and elevated engagement in pleasurable activities paired with substance use (i.e., complementary reinforcers). The direct effect of lower parental education on adolescent substance use was not statistically significant after accounting for the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. No sex differences were detected. Increasing access to and engagement in pleasant activities of high quality that do not need a reinforcement enhancer, such as substances, may be useful in interrupting the link between lower parental socioeconomic status and youth substance use.

The connection of the family’s socioeconomic status and consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana in adolescents of the Brcko district of Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…The impact of the family's SES on the health habits of adolescents is the subject of ongoing research by scientists and health policy makers, as they have a major impact on their future psychophysical development [1][2][3][4][5]. According to research, available in literature, adolescents living in low-SES families tend to be prone to risky and unhealthy behaviors, including the cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana use [3,6].…”

“…The attitude of the experts prevails that SES plays an important role in the development of adolescents, and therefore also on the adolescent's decision to start consuming some of the dangerous and illicited substances [13,14]. Contrary to those attitudes, there are allegations that the link between SES and the cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs use has not been fully clarified and that the family's SES and behavior of their members cannot be verified with certainty [5,6].…”

Economic Circumstances in Childhood and Subsequent Substance Use in Adolescence – A Latent Class Analysis: The youth@hordaland Study

“…Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of several factors that influence substance use among individuals across the lifespan (Jones et al, 2016). Numerous studies have investigated the association between different SES indicators and the use of alcohol and other substances during adolescence and young adulthood (Humensky, 2010; Patrick et al, 2012; Finch et al, 2013; Kendler et al, 2014; Latvala et al, 2014; Lui et al, 2015; Pedersen et al, 2015; Charitonidi et al, 2016; Non et al, 2016; Gomes de Matos et al, 2017; Jang et al, 2017; Pape et al, 2017, 2018; Lee et al, 2018). The nature of this association is complex, and the link seems to be dependent on both how SES is measured and operationalized, the substance in question, the type of use, and the participating adolescents’ age (Ensminger et al, 2000; Boyce et al, 2006; Currie et al, 2008; Kendler et al, 2014; Charitonidi et al, 2016; Pape et al, 2018).…”

“…With regards to the association between individual-level SES and substance use, all of the previously published studies are, to the best of our knowledge, based on self-reported or parental-reported SES (Humensky, 2010; Patrick et al, 2012; Finch et al, 2013; Kendler et al, 2014; Latvala et al, 2014; Lui et al, 2015; Charitonidi et al, 2016; Non et al, 2016; Gomes de Matos et al, 2017; Jang et al, 2017; Pape et al, 2017, 2018; Lee et al, 2018). The use of self-reported SES may be prone to bias and systematic missing data (Ensminger et al, 2000; Svedberg et al, 2016).…”

“…Furthermore, most previous studies only measure SES once (Finch et al, 2013; Charitonidi et al, 2016; Collins, 2016; Gomes de Matos et al, 2017; Pape et al, 2017, 2018; Lee et al, 2018). In contrast, few studies have examined how changes in financial circumstances affect adolescent alcohol and substance use.…”