Family, religiosity, and the risk of adolescent drug use

With questionnaire data from a random sample of 13,250 adolescents, we used structural equation modeling to estimate how mother-adolescent bonding, father-adolescent bonding, parental monitoring, family aggression, family drug problems,, and religiosity were associated with adolescent drug use. Mother-adolescent bonding and family drug problems had modest, indirect effects on the likelihood of adolescent drug use. Father-adolescent bonding, parental monitoring and family aggression had relatively weak effects on adolescent drug use. Students who were religious tended not to use drugs or to have close friends who use drugs. The influence of these risk factors was similar for both females and males and for all three types of drugs.