Wednesday's class is devoted entirely to the topic of substance use/abuse as a family stressor. I will lecture for the first hour, and then we'll discuss Chapter 7 of the textbook (questions, from Group C, will be added below, as they come in).

Over in the links section on the right are some webpages I'll go over. A theme I'd like to introduce is the distinction between what a research study might find if it's conducted on children of alcoholics (COA) in the general population vs. if done in a clinical setting. In that regard, we'll go over two published studies, which we should be able to obtain from the library's website:

Burnett and colleagues, 2006, American Journal of Family Therapy

Domenico and Windle, 1993, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

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Here are the discussion questions:

On page 168, the text suggests that more "authoritative parenting style has been identified as particularly important factor ... in the reduced use of substances (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001). Among older adolescents, more indulgent and less controlling parents have been found to be related to substance abuse more often than have authoritative parents." So eventually, is it a case of "spare the rod and spoil the child?" What parental/familial factors in addition to being "authoritative" might help the child steer clear of substance use?

[This web document explains Baumrind's parenting typology, which includes authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive.]

The book says that "Early substance use in boys, but not later substance use, was related to later delinquency". Why does early substance use bring these effects? The book also talks about difference in girls that "links between drug use and delinquency were based on the shared influences of third variables such as conduct problems". What are examples of third variables and why are there differences between boys and girls? (pg 163)

We talked about adolescent and emerging-adult children yesterday during our discussion and how sometimes colaboration (i.e. volunteering together) can bring a parent and child closer and strengthen their relationship. Let's say that a parent of one of these children has been seeking help for a substance abuse. Do you think it would be beneficial for the parent to be open and honest with their child about what they are going through and possibly take their child to meetings? Do you think this would make it easier or harder to get through substance abuse while trying to raise adolescent and emerging-adult children?

FAS, FAE, and crack babies are born with disadvantages including developmental deficits both cognitively and physically. What can be done to help the children cope with their problems and increase their chances for success in life? (p. 157-58).

The research in our text (as well as other research) shows that parents who are "heavier" drinkers are more likely to influence their children's drinking habits, possibly causing them to drink more at an earlier age. Does "heavier" refer to parents who are alcoholics or parents who drink socially. It seems to me that both of these could be considered "heavier" drinkers, but one may be disruptive to family life whereas one may not. Or is it the mere exposure to alcohol that encourages its use? I am also wondering if this research on parental use and abuse (and the effects on youth drinking habits) applies throughout the world where teens are able to consume alcohol before the age of 21.

What are possible reasons that European American children are more likely to use or abuse substances than their African American counter parts?