Parental Knowledge is a Contextual Amplifier of Associations of Pubertal Maturation and Substance Use

Abstract

Earlier pubertal development and less parental knowledge have been linked to more substance use during adolescence. The present study examines interactions between pubertal timing and tempo and parental knowledge (children’s disclosure, parental control, and parental solicitation) for adolescent substance initiation. Data are from a northeastern US-based cohort-sequential study examining 1023 youth (52% female) semiannually for up to 6 assessments (ages 10.5 to 19 years). The findings supported the hypothesis that lower knowledge is a contextual amplifier of early timing-substance use associations in girls and later timing/slower tempo-substance use associations in boys, though results varied based on source of knowledge. The findings suggest that prevention efforts may have the greatest impact when targeting families of early developing girls, and later developing boys, and that incorporating a focus on specific sources of knowledge depending on the pubertal maturation profile of the adolescent may prove valuable in prevention/intervention efforts.

Deviant Peers as a Mediator of Pubertal Timing–Substance Use Associations: The Moderating Role of Parental Knowledge

“…Peer characteristics are often considered as a mediator of puberty-substance use associations: peer deviance, risky behaviors, and perceived and actual substance use of peers can mediate associations between pubertal risk and substance use (15–17). Parental knowledge has been shown to moderate associations of pubertal risk and substance use such that lower levels of knowledge exacerbate (and higher levels diminish) associations between atypical pubertal maturation and substance use (13), a finding we observed in our earlier work in this sample (5). Further, low parental knowledge has also been shown to exacerbate the influence of peer deviance on substance use (18, 19).…”

“…Perceived pubertal timing and tempo scores were obtained from the repeated measures of the PDS and age (measured continuously) using logistic growth curves (23, 24); see Marceau, Abar (5) for equation and model details. The estimates for individuals’ perceived timing [intercept, age at the midpoint of development, consistent with prior studies] and tempo of puberty [change, in number of stages per year at the midpoint of development] were extracted from the models to be used in hypothesis testing.…”

“…We hypothesized that peer deviance would mediate the association of pubertal timing and tempo with substance use, and that parental knowledge would moderate these pathways, given evidence that parental knowledge moderates associations of pubertal risk and substance use (5), and peer deviance and substance use (19, 20), and to replicate the pattern of results from Westling et al, (2008). Given our earlier findings (5), we tested distinct communicative sources of parental knowledge (child disclosure and parental solicitation).…”

“…Given our earlier findings (5), we tested distinct communicative sources of parental knowledge (child disclosure and parental solicitation). Boys and girls were examined separately given prior evidence of sex differences in pubertal maturation and associations of puberty with peer, parenting, and substance use outcomes (13).…”

“…Early and faster pubertal maturation has been linked to increased risk for substance use in adolescence, particularly in girls (2–4), although sometimes later and/or slower pubertal maturation marks increased risk for substance use in boys (5–7). According to the developmental readiness hypothesis, youth with earlier pubertal timing may be emotionally or physiologically unprepared for the physical and social changes associated with puberty and therefore be at greater risk for mental health problems, substance initiation, and substance use (8, 9).…”