Generational continuity in the use of substances: the impact of parental substance use on adolescent substance use.

Two hundred sixty-two adolescents, ages 13 through 17, and one of the parents of each, interviewed separately, are compared with regard to their use of substances. Youthful subjects in each comparison group are similar in age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Results show a variety of relationships between parental use of coffee, cigarettes, beer and wine, hard liquor and marijuana/hashish and adolescent use of such substances. Generally, parental use of these substances is moderately to strongly related to use by their children. The strongest relationships are found for coffee, mother's use of cigarettes, and father's use of hard liquor. All of these relationships are not linear. For example, fathers who are moderate drinkers of hard liquor are more likely to have adolescent children who are substance users. Two theories of intergenerational substance use are discussed.