Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion

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This finding looks at the relationship between family structure and teen substance use.

Compared to peers in intact families, teens in blended or divorced single-parent families tended to have higher levels of behavioral problems in the last month, such as using tobacco, beer or wine, hard liquor and/or marijuana, binge drinking, carrying a weapons, physical fighting, and/or engaging in sexual activity. This was true controlling for age, gender, race, maternal educational attainment, parental support and monitoring, peer and neighbor support, and school attachment.

Sample or Data Description
Data came from a survey of some 2,011 adolescents, mostly 7th, 9th and 11th graders (averaging 14 years of age), residing in a southeastern city in the U.S. About 60 percent of the respondents in the analytical sample lived in intact families, 20 percent in blended families, and 20 percent in divorce single-parent families. Respondents were predominantly white (85%), and about 11 percent were African American and 4 percent other races. The highest level educational attainment for about one-third of the parents was a high school diploma; about 26 to 28 percent of the parents had some college, and about 21 to 22 percent were college educated.

Source
"Risk and Resiliency Factors Among Adolescents Who Experience Marital Transitions"
Rodgers, Kathleen B.
Rose, Hillary A.
Journal of Marriage and the Family Vol. 64, Number 4. , 2002. Page(s) 1024-1037.

FindingID: 8978