Child and Parent Report of Parenting as Predictors of Substance Use and Suspensions From School

Abstract

This study examined how child and parent reports of parenting were related to early adolescent substance use and school suspensions. Data were from two time points six months apart on 321 families with an eighth grade student attending one of five schools in the Pacific Northwest. Child- and parent-report measures of family management practices were moderately correlated (r = .29). Child report, but not parent report, of more positive family management practices uniquely predicted a lower likelihood of adolescent substance use. Also, discrepancies between child and parent report of parenting predicted substance use, with child positive report of family management losing its protective association with adolescent substance use when parents had negative reports of their parenting. Parent report, but not child report, of better parenting predicted lower likelihood of suspensions, suggesting that the salience of child and parent report may depend on the type of behavioral outcome.