Studies
have shown a correlation between perceived parenting styles and substance use
in adolescents and young adults in college (Adalbjarnardottir &
Hafsteinsson, 2001; Peckham-Patock & Morgan Lopez, 2006; Peckham-Patock
& Morgan-Lopez, 2007). These studies
indicate that various parenting styles affect children in different ways and
could potentialy shape an adolescent’s behavior. There are various types of
parenting styles and each seems to have a distinctive impact on the behavioral
outcome of a child. The question we are determined to answer is what parenting
style correlates to greater substance use in young adults in college.
Adalbjarnardottir and Hafsteinsson (2001)
describe authoritative parents as being responsive, warm, supportive, and
encouraging toward their children, yet demanding and firm with clear standards
for their children’s behavior without being intrusive or restrictive. These
parents respect the needs and often the wants of their children and lend
themselves to any advice they feel they should impart on their children.
Communication in general between parents and children is especially strong
within their parenting style. Previous results have shown that the
authoritative parenting style decreases the likelihood of adolescents
experimenting with substances (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001). We
hypothesize that college students who perceive their parents as authoritative
will be less likely to use substances.
Demanding and controlling parents
with strict rules their children are not supposed to question characterize the
authoritarian parenting style; these parents are not warm or responsive to the
needs of their children (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001). There are
conflicting results on how the authoritarian parenting style affects adolescent
behavior. Adalbjarnardottir and Hafsteinsson (2001) determined that
authoritarian parents are less able to prevent their adolescent from using
certain substances as opposed to the authoritative parenting style. It seems
that when presented with unconditional rules some adolescents may rebel against
their parents and do things their own way, including deviant behavior and
substance abuse. On the other hand, Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, and Dornbusch (1991)
found that adolescents with authoritarian parents are also often more obedient
and more apt to conforming to the standards of adults. It would be interesting to see if rebellion
against authoritarian parents is more prevalent in Iceland, where the Adolbjarnardottir
and Hafsteinsson study was conducted, and less of an issue in the United
States. We hypothesize that participants who rate their parents as
authoritarian, and now away from their controlling home environment, will rebel
and be more likely and willing to use substances.
Indulgent parents are responsive,
warm, and less demanding that authoritative parents, allowing considerable
self-regulation and avoid confrontation (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson,
2001). Although these parents are still
responsive and warm toward their children, low demands and a tendency to avoid
confrontation sometimes leads their adolescents to experiment with substances,
though less likely than those adolescents raised in neglectful families.
Neglectful parents are not
responsive or demanding of their children, nor do they monitor, guide, or
support them (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001). These parents
typically do not care much what their child does nor relate to them in anyway.
Communication between parents and child, if any, is usually very limited. As a
result, adolescents in neglectful families are often the highest risk for
substance use compared to all other parenting styles.
Methods
Participants
Sixty-nine undergraduate students
from a variety of majors at Indiana State University participated in this
study. Some students were allowed extra credit points from their instructor for
participating. Each student was given a questionnaire to complete.
Procedure
To begin, participants were given an
informed consent. A questionnaire was then be administered and instructions on
how to complete the questionnaire given.
The questionnaire consisted of five
demographic questions: age, major, minor, grade level, and home zip code. Also
present were questions relating to participants’ past, current, and desired
drug use for a variety of different drugs (i.e. alcohol, marijuana, cocaine,
inhalants, etc.). Finally, the questionnaire asked several questions that
correspond to the various parenting styles described previously (authoritative,
authoritarian, indulgent, neglectful). Examples of parenting style questions
include; “my parents expected unquestioned obedience” (authoritarian), “my
parents were demanding but reasonable” (authoritative), “my parents did not
care or notice if I stayed out all night” (neglectful), and “my parents gave me
what I wanted when I threw fits or whined” (indulgent). The independent
variables in this study are perceived parenting styles. The dependent variables
in this study are the amount of substances used.
Upon completion of the questionnaire, participants
were given a debriefing.
Results
Of the initial 69 participants, 2 were excluded for
not completing the Parenting Styles section of the questionnaire. A score of 4
or more on a specific parenting style classified that participant as having a
certain parenting style (Authoritarian, Authoritative, Neglectful, Indulgent).
Inconclusive Parenting Styles (scores of 4 or more on multiple categories) were
determined for 4 participants and were also excluded from the study. A total of
9 participants were considered either Indulgent or Neglectful; due to lack of
sample size, those participants and Parenting Styles were excluded from the
study. 8 participants represented the Authoritarian Parenting Style and 46
participants represented the Authoritative Parenting Style.
Our main analysis focused on the relationship between
the Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting Styles and drug use during the
Past 12 Months for those samples.
Past 12 Month Drug Use
Overall drug use during the past 12 months was similar
for both Authoritarian (M = .988, SE = .238) and Authoritative (M
= .752, SE = .103) Parenting Styles. No
significant different was found between these two Parenting Styles and Past 12
Month drug use, t(52) = .886, p >
.2. There were also no significant differences between Authoritarian and
Authoritative Parenting Styles when compared to specific drugs (see Table 1)
used in the past 12 months.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to
investigate whether or not there was a difference in drug use among college
students who report having different parenting styles as an adolescent, more
specifically the Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting Styles. Our
hypotheses was that students who report having the Authoritarian Parenting
Style growing up would report more drug use once they left home to attend
college and students who report having the Authoritative Parenting Style would
be less likely to use drugs; our results do not support our hypotheses. Also,
there is no significant difference between specific drug use and Authoritarian
and Authoritative Parenting Styles (See Table 1). Our small sample size is not
adequate for satisfying results in this study. Further research needs to be
conducted and include a substantial larger number of participants from each
Parenting Style. To recruit sufficient participants representative of each
Parenting Style, the study needs to extend beyond the college setting and into
the community. There mere fact that we only used college students shows that
our results in no way represent the average public population.
Our results indicate, however, that parenting styles
may impact whether or not an adolescent attends college. For example, our
results indicate that fewest students reported having Indulgent or Neglectful
Parenting Styles, which could indicate that smothering a child or ignoring a
child might detour them from attending college later in life. The Authoritative
Parenting Style seemed to be most prevalent among college students, which may
indicate that those children who are able to communicate effectively with their
parents are more likely to attend college. More studies should be directed
toward whether or not certain Parenting Styles are linked to college attendance
among children. The results from those studies would be most beneficial when
helping parents determine how to be a better parent.
In conclusion, this research has shown that our
sample from Indiana State University does not show a significant difference in
drug use between Parenting Styles. Further research on this question should be
conducted in the general public so that each Parenting Style is represented by
a larger number of participants. This study has, however, raised an interesting
issue of whether or not certain Parenting Styles determine the likelihood of an
adolescent attending college.
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References
Adalbjarnardottir, Sigrun, & Hafsteinsson, Leifur G. (2001).
Adolescents’
perceived parenting styles
and their substance use: Concurrent and longitudinal analyses. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(4), 401-423. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.indstate.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.
ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2001-10151-004&site=ehost-live
Lamborn,
Susue D., Mounts, Nina S., Steinberg, Laurence, & Dornbusch,
Sanford M. (1991). Patterns of competence and
adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and
neglectful families. Child Development,
62(5), 1049-1065. doi: 10.2307/1131151
Paxton,
Raheem J., Valois, Robert F., & Drane, J. Wanzer. (2007). Is there a
relationship between family structure and
substance use among public middle school students? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 593-605.
doi:10.1007/s10826-006-9109-y
Peckham-Patock,
Julie A., & Morgan-Lopez, Antonio A. (2006). College
drinking behaviors: Meditational links between
parenting styles, impulse control, and alcohol-related outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20(2),
117-125. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.20.2.11
Peckham-Patock, Julie A., & Morgan-Lopez, Antonio A. (2007).
College
drinking behaviors: Meditational links between
parenting styles, parental
bonds, depression, and alcohol-related
outcomes. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 21(3), 297-306. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.21.3.297
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Table 1
Specific Drug Use Between Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting
Styles
|
Authoritarian
|
Authoritative
|
|
|
||
Measure
|
M
|
SD
|
M
|
SD
|
F(1, 52)
|
p
|
Cigarettes
|
2.38
|
3.068
|
1.85
|
2.828
|
.231
|
.633
|
Tobacco
|
1.00
|
2.449
|
.63
|
1.323
|
.401
|
.529
|
Alcohol
|
3.50
|
2.777
|
3.46
|
2.656
|
.002
|
.966
|
Pot
|
2.38
|
3.068
|
1.17
|
2.234
|
1.760
|
.190
|
Heroin
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
Cocaine
|
.25
|
.707
|
.09
|
.468
|
.684
|
.412
|
Meth
|
.00
|
.00
|
.02
|
.149
|
.175
|
.677
|
Hallucinogens
|
.12
|
.354
|
.02
|
.147
|
2.039
|
.159
|
Inhalants
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
.00
|
Rx
|
.25
|
.463
|
.28
|
.886
|
.010
|
.920
|
Note: Specific drug use is from
the past 12 months.