The Transition to Fatherhood, Contextual Stress, and Substance Abuse: A Prospective Analysis of Rural, Emerging Adult Black American Men

Abstract

Background: Among Black American emerging adult men (∼aged 18–25), the early transition to fatherhood is often marred by numerous contextual stressors related to racial discrimination and socioeconomic instability. The strain of transitioning to fatherhood while experiencing high levels of contextual stress may evidence escalations in substance misuse over time as men may turn to substances to cope with the stress of complex life transitions. However, research examining these associations are scarce. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of contextual stress on the association between fatherhood and substance misuse. Hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression with 3 waves of data from 476 Black American men aged 19 to 22 at baseline living in resource-poor communities in the rural South. Results: Results demonstrated that fatherhood status was associated, prospectively, with Black American fathers’ substance misuse when exposure to contextual stress was high but not low. Conclusions: Findings underscore the need for substance misuse prevention programs to (a) support Black American fathers in coping with race-related stress and (b) integrate robust socioeconomic stability services in order in disrupt patterns of future substance misuse by improving Black American men’s experience of the transition to fatherhood.

Keywords:

• Fatherhood
• substance use
• emerging adulthood
• contextual stress
• paternal

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Grant R01DA029488 and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under Grant R01AA026623. The content is solely the authors’ responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, or the National Institutes of Health. The analysis presented was not disseminated prior to the creation of this article; however, this study’s dataset was used in prior publications, which we have noted in the text.

Authors’ contributions

Curtis wrote the first draft of the manuscript and conducted statistical analyses. Collins assisted with the study’s conceptualization and contributed to the writing and commenting on drafts. Augustine, Kwon, Reck, and Zuercher assisted with the study’s conceptualization and commented on drafts of the manuscript. Dr. Kogan conceived of the study, provided the data, contributed to the writing, and commented on drafts of the manuscript.

Declaration of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Grant R01DA029488, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under Grant R01AA026623, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers UL1TR002378 and L1TR002382. The content is solely the authors’ responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, or the National Institutes of Health.