Are parents’ beliefs about substance use risks associated with their adolescent child’s substance use?

Although specific parenting behaviors have been identified as protective factors for adolescent substance use (SU), the relationship between parents’ beliefs about the risks associated with SU and their adolescent child’s SU remains unclear. Furthermore, shared genes between parents and their biological offspring may confound this relationship. This analysis draws data from a prospective, longitudinal adoption study of both non-biologically related parent-child dyads and biologically related dyads to investigate the relationship between parents’ beliefs about the risks associated with SU and their adolescent child’s self-reported SU (M age = 18.9 years). The sample included 284 parent-adolescent dyads, of which 227 were not biologically related (54.2% of adolescents were male and 57.7% were White). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Parent Substance-Related Beliefs Scale revealed that parents’ risk perceptions differed by substance type. Structural equation modeling was used to regress the adolescent’s use of a specific substance on their parent’s perception of risks associated with that substance. Parents’ greater perceived risk associated with alcohol use was associated with a decrease in the probability of their adolescent ever drinking by age 18 but not their alcohol use frequency; however, parents’ perceptions of cannabis-related risks were not associated with their adolescent’s initiation of cannabis use or frequency of use. In addition, prenatal substance exposure was associated with adolescent SU. The parents’ biological relation did not moderate any identified associations, suggesting that they were likely environmental in nature. Parents’ perceptions of alcohol-related risk may be a viable target for preventive interventions.