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First published online July 10, 2016

Mother, Father, and Grandparent Involvement: Associations With Adolescent Mental Health and Substance Use

Wade Profe and Lauren G. Wild [email protected]View all authors and affiliations

Volume 38, Issue 6

https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15583069

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine whether mother, father, and closest grandparent involvement are associated with South African adolescents’ mental health (internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behavior) and substance use. A sample of 512 Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners in Cape Town (M age = 14 years) completed a structured survey. Of the participants, 57% were female, and 85% identified themselves as “colored” (mixed race). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, indicated that mother and father involvement were negatively associated with adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas mother and closest grandparent involvement were positively associated with prosocial behavior. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that parent involvement was negatively associated with past-month cigarette use, but not with past-month alcohol or past-year marijuana use. The findings suggest the importance of considering parents and grandparents in interventions to promote adolescent mental health.

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Published In

Journal of Family Issues

Volume 38, Issue 6

Pages: 776 - 797

Article first published online: July 10, 2016

Issue published: April 2017

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Wade Profe

University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa

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Lauren G. Wild

University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa

[email protected]

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Notes

Lauren G. Wild, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7701, South Africa. Email: [email protected]

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