Associations of Substance-Specific Parenting with Substance Use in the Offspring: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Parental behaviors have been suggested to affect substance use in their offspring. The present meta-analysis examines associations between five types of substance-specific parental behaviors and the offspring's consumption of psychoactive substances. METHOD: Studies were identified through a systematic search of the electronic databases PsycInfo, Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, and cross-referencing. Hierarchical meta-analyses were computed on 770 studies using a random-effects model. RESULTS: = -.165; CI -.194 to -.135), while associations between parent-child communication about substance use and youth consumption varied depending on the content of the communication. The analysis of cross-lagged associations found very small bidirectional links between parenting and youth consumption. Moderating effects were found for the type of substance (alcohol, nicotine, cannabis/mixed), child age and gender, and whether analyses focused on the parental dyad rather than individual parents. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that substance-specific parenting is a relevant target for prevention and intervention. However, to optimize outcomes, more than one parental behavior should be addressed, and parent-focused interventions may be combined with offspring-focused interventions.