Parenting Practices as Moderators of the Relationship Between Peers and Adolescent Marijuana Use

Abstract

We address how childcare subsidies help in the welfare-to-work transition relative to other factors. We examine how the policy operates, whether childcare problems differ by subsidy receipt, and the effect of subsidy on work. Data are from a random sample panel study of welfare recipients after 1996. Findings show that subsidy receipt reduces costs but not parenting stress or problems with care. It predicts earnings and work duration net of other factors. Increased use of subsidies by eligible families and greater funding for child care would help meet the demand for this important support for working-poor families. A ccess to subsidized child care is an important concern for many women moving from welfare to work. Because access to a subsidy program varies by state, here we describe the policy context in Michigan, where the study was conducted. We examine whether demographic characteristics and other factors that may affect work differ by childcare use and subsidy receipt. We assess whether subsidies reduce childcare problems and increase a woman's percent of months worked and monthly earnings. Using data from the Women's Employment Study (WES), a random sample panel survey of women who received welfare, we draw policy and program implications regarding how child care financial assistance can better promote the welfare reform objective of self-sufficiency through employment.

Four factors for the initiation of substance use by young adulthood: A 10-year follow-up twin and sibling study of marital conflict, monitoring, siblings, and peers

“…In general, these studies have found that when parents know who their children are with, where they are, and when they will return (parental monitoring and/or knowledge), children show fewer externalizing behaviors, associate with fewer delinquent peers, and are less likely to initiate use of drugs. This pattern of findings has been shown for initiation of commonly used substances like tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana (Crano, Siegel, Alvaro, Lac, & Hemovich, 2008; Dishion et al, 1995; Dishion & Loeber, 1985; Dorius, Bahr, Hoffmann, & Harmon, 2004; Duncan, Duncan, Biglan, & Ary, 1998; Lac & Crano, 2009; Piko & Kovacs, 2010) as well as for use of other less commonly used drugs, like ecstasy (Martins, Storr, Alexandre, & Chilcoat, 2008; Wu, Liu, & Fan, 2010) and inhalants (Nonnemaker, Crankshaw, Shive, Hussin, & Farrelly, 2011). Although other parenting behaviors (i.e., hostility, warmth, involvement, and coercive discipline) have also been shown to predict adolescent substance use (e.g., Cheng & Lo, 2010; Fletcher, Steinberg, & Williams-Wheeler, 2004; Siebenbruner, Englund, Egeland, & Hudson, 2006), generally parental monitoring and knowledge continues to be a significant predictor above and beyond other parenting behaviors (see Chen, Storr, & Anthony, 2005 for an exception to this).…”

Escape from violence: What reduces the enduring consequences of adolescent gang affiliation?

“…For example, Vitaro, Brendgen, and Tremblay (2000) observed that boys’ attachment to parents moderated the link between best friend’s deviancy and their own later delinquency. Dorius, Bahr, Hoffmann, and Harmon (2004) also reported that closeness to a parent moderated the relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use.…”

Observed parenting behavior with teens: Measurement invariance and predictive validity across race.

“…Dishion (2003) and others (Dorius, Bahr, Hoffman, & Harmon, 2004; Fletcher, Steinberg, & Williams-Wheeler, 2004; Melby, Conger, Conger, & Lorenz, 1993) have linked rewards for prosocial behavior to reduced youth antisocial behavior. A closely related set of parenting behaviors is the ability to do problem solving with their teen without hostility or protracted argument.…”