Pubertal timing and relationships with parents and peers have each been linked to substance use in adolescent girls. However, to understand the origin of adolescent substance use in relation to these factors, it is important to focus on combined risk effects. As shown in the systematic review (the first part of this PhD project) only a few studies have tested the relationships between these factors in predicting adolescent substance use The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the main effects of pubertal timing and psycho-social factors (parent-daughter relations and peer deviance) on substance use. A second aim was to examine whether the links between pubertal timing and girl’s substance use are indirect via psycho-social factors (mediation) and whether the links between psycho-social factors and substance use differ across pubertal timing groups (moderation). Girls’ data from the population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was analysed. Pubertal timing was assessed yearly between ages 8 and 17, parent-daughter relations and peer deviance at age 15, and alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use at age 16. Additionally, analyses controlled for a set of a priori selected confounders. Late maturing girls had lower levels of cannabis use compared to on-time maturing girls. Late maturing girls had fewer alcohol drinking, cannabis using and delinquent friends than early maturing girls and fewer cannabis using friends than ontime maturing girls. Additionally, late maturing girls’ lower levels of alcohol use were partly explained by having fewer cannabis using and delinquent friends. To conclude, in late adolescence, the combined effects of peer deviance and pubertal timing are more influential than the combined effects of parent-daughter relations and pubertal timing, in predicting adolescent substance use. Collectively, the findings indicate the importance of creating targeted prevention programs that are sensitive to developmental stage in relation to the peer group.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:611050 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Hummel, Alegra |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/60384/ |
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