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Developmental Pathways from Parental Socioeconomic Status to Adolescent Substance Use: Alternative and Complementary Reinforcement

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Abstract

Although lower socioeconomic status has been linked to increased youth substance use, much less research has determined potential mechanisms explaining the association. The current longitudinal study tested whether alternative (i.e., pleasure gained from activities without any concurrent use of substances) and complementary (i.e., pleasure gained from activities in tandem with substance use) reinforcement mediate the link between lower socioeconomic status and youth substance use. Further, we tested whether alternative and complementary reinforcement and youth substance use gradually unfold over time and then intersect with one another in a cascading manner. Potential sex differences are also examined. Data were drawn from a longitudinal survey of substance use and mental health among high school students in Los Angeles. Data collection involved four semiannual assessment waves beginning in fall 2013 (N = 3395; M baseline age = 14.1; 47% Hispanic, 16.2% Asian, 16.1% multiethnic, 15.7% White, and 5% Black; 53.4% female). The results from a negative binomial path model suggested that lower parental socioeconomic status (i.e., lower parental education) was significantly related to an increased number of substances used by youth. The final path model revealed that the inverse association was statistically mediated by adolescents’ diminished engagement in pleasurable substance-free activities (i.e., alternative reinforcers) and elevated engagement in pleasurable activities paired with substance use (i.e., complementary reinforcers). The direct effect of lower parental education on adolescent substance use was not statistically significant after accounting for the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. No sex differences were detected. Increasing access to and engagement in pleasant activities of high quality that do not need a reinforcement enhancer, such as substances, may be useful in interrupting the link between lower parental socioeconomic status and youth substance use.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our gratitude to H&H study participants for their continued contribution to the study.

Funding

This study was supported by grants R01-DA033296 and F31-DA039708 from National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. The funding agencies played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit this article for publication.

Authors’ Contributions

J.O.L. conceptualized the study, guided data analyses, led the writing of the article, and coordinated drafting of the manuscript among co-authors; J.C. performed the statistical analyses; Y.Y. and M.S.B. contributed to data preparation for analyses and article preparation including literature search; R.K. contributed to data analyses and the interpretation of findings; A.M.H. conceptualized the study, contributed to interpretation of findings, and acquired the data. In addition, all authors have been involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jungeun Olivia Lee.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All study procedures were approved by the Human Subjects Review Committee of the University of Southern California.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Lee, J.O., Cho, J., Yoon, Y. et al. Developmental Pathways from Parental Socioeconomic Status to Adolescent Substance Use: Alternative and Complementary Reinforcement. J Youth Adolescence 47, 334–348 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0790-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0790-5

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