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

Introduction: Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to increased youth substance use. Less is known potential mechanisms explaining the inverse association. The current study tested whether alternative (i.e., pleasurable activities engaged instead of substance use) and complementary (i.e., pleasurable activities engaged in tandem with substance use) reinforcement mediate the link between lower SES 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.

Method: 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 = 3,383; M age = 14.58). Youth substance use is a composite index summarizing six substances used during the previous 30 days for each wave—alcohol, combustible cigarette, marijuana, stimulant, prescription stimulant pill, and prescription painkiller. Parental SES was measured using parental education. Alternative and complementary reinforcement were assessed using a modified version of the Pleasant Events Schedule at each time point. Covariates included age, sex, race, living situation, and family history of substance use. A series of negative binomial path models were estimated.

Results: The inverse association between parental education and youth substance use was mediated by diminished engagement in pleasurable substance-free activities (i.e., alternative reinforcement) and elevated engagement in pleasurable activities that were paired up with substance use (i.e., complementary reinforcement). Our findings also suggest that the predictive influence of alternative and complementary reinforcement on substance use possibly strengthened over time. The direct effect of lower parental education on youth substance use at the final wave was not statistically significant after accounting for the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. No gender differences were detected.

Conclusions: The current study suggests that diminished alternative reinforcement and elevated complementary reinforcement may function as important mechanisms underlying the inverse association between parental SES and youth substance use. Prevention efforts are needed to increase access to affordable high-quality activities for adolescents from low SES backgrounds. Psychological intervention programs that cultivate awareness of the costs and reinforcing benefits associated with substance use might be effective micro-level interventions that can break the link between lower SES and youth substance use.