The influence of parental substance use on adolescent substance use: A systematic review of moderators

Abstract

Parental substance use is a strong predictor of adolescent substance use, but empirical research has identified factors that can moderate that relationship. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of those factors. Manuscripts were sought in 12 databases. Of the initial 6467 documents screened by title, abstract, and keywords, 101 were full-text analyzed. Ultimately, 24 studies were eligible for this study. All steps of the review process were independently conducted by two of the authors. The results show that various family (e.g., family cohesion), individual (e.g., mental health), and environmental (e.g., school interventions) factors moderate the association between parental substance use and adolescent substance use. The findings suggest that the development of individual skills, improvement of family settings, and involvement of adolescents in healthy environments can be protective against substance use for adolescents whose parents are substance users.