Research & Resources

Sex Difference Associations Between Parental Monitoring and Substance Use Initiation

This study examined parental monitoring (PM) as a predictor of substance use initiation across adolescence and whether associations generalize across a range of substances and by sex. Participants were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study of high school students from Southern California. Researchers assessed students who were never-users at baseline (10th grade) and the role of PM in eight substance use initiation outcomes (initiation of seven individual substances or categories of substances: alcohol, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, stimulants, or opioids, as well as the total number of substances initiated) at follow-up (12th grade). PM was associated with lower odds of student initiation of all substances, but particularly for females. Male sex was associated with increased odds of initiating use of cigarettes and cigars over follow-up. There also was a significant association of PM and sex interactions for cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana, whereby lower PM was associated with greater odds of initiation among females, compared to males.   
This paper, “Sex differences in the association between parental monitoring and substance use initiation among adolescents,” was funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
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