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. 2025 Feb;76(2):332-336.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.09.022. Epub 2024 Nov 8.

Parental Monitoring and Its Association With Alcohol, Tobacco Cigarettes, and Cannabis Initiation in the United States Adolescent Population

Ahnalee M Brincks  1 , Samantha J Bauer  2 , James C Anthony  3
Affiliations

Parental Monitoring and Its Association With Alcohol, Tobacco Cigarettes, and Cannabis Initiation in the United States Adolescent Population

Ahnalee M Brincks et al. J Adolesc Health. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: Limiting time with friends (LTWF), a facet of parental monitoring, may be protective for newly incident adolescent alcohol, tobacco cigarette, and cannabis use.

Methods: We extended epidemiological evidence based on estimates from nationally representative samples of US adolescents aged 12-17 years, across 18 years of independent samples of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002-2019). We estimated the prevalence of always LTWF, and odds ratios examining incident alcohol, tobacco cigarette, and cannabis use by LTWF within age and cohort.

Results: The prevalence of always LTWF decreased with older age within study year and cohort. The odds of alcohol initiation were lower among youth reporting their parents were always LTWF. The odds of tobacco cigarette and cannabis initiation were lower among younger youth reporting their parents were always LTWF.

Discussion: Future research is needed to fully understand the influence of LTWF on incident substance use, particularly for older adolescents.

Keywords: Early adolescence; Parental monitoring; Substance use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest nor competing interests.

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