Longitudinal Trajectories of Parenting Style in Childhood and Their Associations with Trajectories of Multiple Substance Use from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood Among an Ethnic Chinese Cohort

Existing studies on the association between parenting style and substance use have important limitations, including presuming dichotomous typology of parenting style based on cross-sectional data, characterizing the developmental course of a single substance in a limited period, and relying on data collected from Western societies. This study fills in the current knowledge gap by conducting secondary analysis on data from an ethnic Chinese cohort of 2,854 children who were followed annually from 2001 to 2016. Analyzing parental involvement, support, and discipline measures at ages 7-12, the group-based multiple trajectory modeling identified four parenting styles: neglectful, deteriorating, ordinary, and supportive. This study also found three substance use trajectories (high, medium, and low) based on the frequencies of alcohol, cigarette, drug, and betel nut use at ages 13-22. Children raised by the ordinary or supportive parenting styles, as a protective factor, had low risk of being classified into the high-level substance use trajectory. In contrast, the deteriorating style characterized by declining support and involvement along with increasing discipline was a risk factor of substance use development. The neglectful style with the lowest levels of parental support and involvement was also at risk for engaging in high-level substance use. Substance use prevention should target parents who practice deteriorating or neglectful parenting styles. Parents should caution that inconsistent parenting practice (deteriorating) can exacerbate the alienation of parent-child relationship. The low socioeconomic status of the neglectful group also calls for more social resources to be allocated to such families.