Purpose: Parents' attitudes about adolescent substance use likely guide their parenting behaviors. This study documents prevalence of parents' disapproval of adolescent substance use and characteristics associated with disapproval.
Methods: Survey data from national samples of 35-year-old parents from the U.S. Monitoring the Future study were collected 1993-2018. Multivariable logistic regression examined predictors of disapproving attitudes about substance use by a hypothetical 17-year-old child, including occasional marijuana use or drunkenness, and regular cigarette, marijuana, or alcohol use.
Results: Across all cohorts, rates of disapproving attitudes ranged from 93.7% disapproving of getting drunk occasionally to 97.2% disapproving of regular cigarette use, with some erosion in disapproval for some substances across cohorts. Parents' own recent abstinence from substance use predicted greater odds of disapproval.
Conclusions: The overwhelming majority of 35-year-old parents disapprove of adolescent substance use. Prevention and public health messaging can support parenting by sharing this important information.
Keywords: Adolescent substance use; Alcohol use; Cigarette use; Marijuana use; Parent attitudes; Parenting.
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