Parent Prevention Communication Profiles and Adolescent Substance Use: A Latent Profile Analysis and Growth Curve Model

ABSTRACT

This current study identifies distinct parent prevention communication profiles and examines whether youth with different parental communication profiles have varying substance use trajectories over time. Eleven schools in two rural school districts in the Midwestern United States were selected, and 784 students were surveyed at three time points from the beginning of 7th grade to the end of 8th grade. A series of latent profile analyses were performed to identify discrete profiles/subgroups of substance-specific prevention communication (SSPC). The results revealed a 4-profile model of SSPC: Active-Open, Passive-Open, Active-Silent, and Passive-Silent. A growth curve model revealed different rates of lifetime substance use depending on the youth’s SSPC profile. These findings have implications for parenting interventions and tailoring messages for parents to fit specific SSPC profiles.

Acknowledgments

This article’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Portions of this article were presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the National Communication Association. There is no conflict of interest.

Funding

This publication was supported by Grant Number R01DA021670 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to The Pennsylvania State University (Michael Hecht, Principal Investigator).

Additional information

Funding

This publication was supported by Grant Number R01DA021670 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to The Pennsylvania State University (Michael Hecht, Principal Investigator).