The Effect of Childhood Supervisory Neglect on Emerging Adults’ Drinking

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of childhood supervisory neglect on emerging adults’ drinking. Child supervisory neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment in the United States, but few studies explore supervisory neglect separate from other forms of maltreatment among emerging adults, 18–25 years old. The study sample included (n = 11,117) emerging adults, 18–25 years old who participated in Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We conducted separate analyses for male and female emerging adults, because they have different rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol risk behaviors. Our study used latent class analysis to understand how patterns of alcohol risk behaviors clustered together. For males, we found the following four classes: (1) multiple-risk drinkers, (2) moderate-risk drinkers, (3) binge-drinkers, and (4) low-risk drinkers or abstainers. For females, we found the following three classes: (1) multiple-risk drinkers, (2) moderate-risk drinkers, and (3) low-risk drinkers or abstainers. For both males and females, supervisory neglect increased the odds of membership in the multiple-risk drinkers’ class compared to the low-risk drinkers or abstainers’ class. Single males who did not live with their parents, and who were white had increased odds of being in the multiple-risk drinkers. For females, being more educated, or in a serious romantic relationship increased the odds of membership in the multiple-risk drinkers’ class. Practitioners should ask about histories of supervisory neglect among emerging adults who engage in alcohol risk behaviors.

Keywords:

• Child supervisory neglect
• alcohol
• latent class analysis
• emerging adults
• National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
• gender differences
• depression
• parental drinking
• Add Health

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan M. Snyder

Susan M. Snyder, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the Georgia State University. Dr. Snyder's work focuses on problem behavior, including substance use and illegal behaviors among system-involved youth and emerging adults. Her work contributes to the understanding of the correlates associated with typologies of cooccurring problem behaviors.

Darcey H. Merritt

Darcey H. Merritt, Ph.D., M.S.W. is an Assistant Professor at the New York University Silver School of Social Work. Her research focuses on families involved with the public child welfare system, with particular attention to the perspectives of children and parents; distinguishing between specific types of maltreatment in an effort to highlight appropriate needed resources and services; and the impact of client perceived experiences on socio-developmental and behavioral outcomes. Her work contributes to developing a more refined understanding of the characteristics of abusive and neglectful parents, the neighborhood structural impact on parenting, and parental and child well-being outcomes for child welfare involved families.