Family dynamics and alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents: The mediating role of negative emotional symptoms and sensation seeking

Abstract

The literature indicates a close relationship between family dynamics and psychoactive substance use among adolescents, and multi-causality among substance use-related problems, including personal adolescent characteristics as potential influential aspects in this relationship. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of emotional symptoms and sensation seeking as mediators in the relationship between family dynamics and alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents. The sample consisted of 571 high school students with a mean age of 14.63, who completed the Communities That Care Youth Survey in its Spanish version. We propose and test a mediation-in-serial model to identify the relationships between the study variables. The results of the mediation models indicate that, in most cases, the relationship between family dynamics and the substance use variables is meaningfully carried through the proposed mediators, first through negative emotional symptoms, and then through sensation seeking. The meaning of the mediation varies as a function of the facet of family dynamics (conflict or attachment) and the use aspect (age of onset, frequency of use, and use intention). We discuss the implications of these findings for intervention and prevention strategies.

Keywords: Family dynamics; Negative emotional symptoms and sensation seeking; Substance use.