TY - JOUR
T1 - Heterogeneity in Effects of Parent–Child Separation on Young–Adult Substance Use Disorder
AU - Blake, Austin J.
AU - McNeish, Daniel
AU - Chassin, Laurie
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Grant AA016213 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to Laurie Chassin.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021. American Psychological Association
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - A large body of literature suggests that parent–child separation predicts child maladjustment. However, further advancement in methodology is needed to account for heterogeneity in types of separation. Additionally, given a lack of research examining different types of separation as predictors of offspring substance use, further research into this topic is warranted. The present study tested the relation between parent–child separation and young–adult substance use disorder (SUD), capturing heterogeneity in these effects based on group differences and measurement of separation. In a sample of 427 young adults from a larger longitudinal study oversampled for parental alcohol use disorder (AUD), effects of number and type of separations on SUD diagnosis were tested. Further, we explored whether these associations were moderated by gender, ethnicity, or parental AUD. Two underlying types of separation were found: parental health-related separation (i.e., parental death, hospitalization) and nonhealth-related separation (i.e., divorce, arrest). A higher sum of separations and greater nonhealth-related separation predicted higher odds of SUD. Greater health-related separation predicted lower odds of SUD. However, these effects were qualified by interactions with ethnicity and parental AUD. Although the vast majority of studies measure cumulative parent–child separation with sum scores, the present study demonstrates that measuring underlying “types” of cumulative separation also reveals important effects. Moreover, childhood separation is a significant risk factor for SUD. Future research on separation should implement methods to capture separation types and further account for potential effects of selection into separation types.
AB - A large body of literature suggests that parent–child separation predicts child maladjustment. However, further advancement in methodology is needed to account for heterogeneity in types of separation. Additionally, given a lack of research examining different types of separation as predictors of offspring substance use, further research into this topic is warranted. The present study tested the relation between parent–child separation and young–adult substance use disorder (SUD), capturing heterogeneity in these effects based on group differences and measurement of separation. In a sample of 427 young adults from a larger longitudinal study oversampled for parental alcohol use disorder (AUD), effects of number and type of separations on SUD diagnosis were tested. Further, we explored whether these associations were moderated by gender, ethnicity, or parental AUD. Two underlying types of separation were found: parental health-related separation (i.e., parental death, hospitalization) and nonhealth-related separation (i.e., divorce, arrest). A higher sum of separations and greater nonhealth-related separation predicted higher odds of SUD. Greater health-related separation predicted lower odds of SUD. However, these effects were qualified by interactions with ethnicity and parental AUD. Although the vast majority of studies measure cumulative parent–child separation with sum scores, the present study demonstrates that measuring underlying “types” of cumulative separation also reveals important effects. Moreover, childhood separation is a significant risk factor for SUD. Future research on separation should implement methods to capture separation types and further account for potential effects of selection into separation types.
KW - Parent–child separation
KW - Principal component analysis
KW - Substance use disorder
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U2 - 10.1037/fam0000880
DO - 10.1037/fam0000880
M3 - Article
C2 - 34060892
AN - SCOPUS:85108988759
SN - 0893-3200
VL - 36
SP - 159
EP - 169
JO - Journal of Family Psychology
JF - Journal of Family Psychology
IS - 2
ER -