Drug Initiation Habits as Predicted by Sibling Closeness in Divorced and Non-divorced Families
Open Access
- Author:
- Herwig, Anna
- Area of Honors:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Jenae Marie Neiderhiser, Thesis Supervisor
Jeff M Love, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Divorce
Adolescence
Drugs
Alcohol
Social contagion
Sibling relationship - Abstract:
- In recent decades, divorce has become an increasingly common part of modern relationships. It is widely recognized that divorce does not just impact the couple in the relationship—children of divorce are their own distinct population uniquely affected by what can often be a traumatic event. In fact, over one million children in the United States experience the divorce of their parents each year. (Fagan & Churchill, 2012). With this trend in mind, the relevance of understanding the impact of divorce on children cannot be overstated, especially as it pertains to the prevention of drug use and other risky behaviors. The present study explores the link between divorce and drug and alcohol initiation habits in adolescents and the possible effects of sibling closeness of substance use initiation. Analyzing data from the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) project, a study of 720 adolescent siblings and their nondivorced (n=287) divorced and divorced and remarried (n=421) parents followed into young adulthood, I examined the effects of divorce during childhood on substance use during adolescence. The younger siblings of divorced families were expected to report greater closeness with their older sibling in addition to a greater frequency of drug initiation when compared to the younger siblings from nondivorced families. Results: Age and age difference were positively associated with drug initiation. Controlling for these factors, however, divorce status of the family did not alter the relationship between drug initiation and sibling closeness. These results show a lack of support for the hypothesis that sibling closeness following a divorce increases drug initiation in adolescents and indicate a need for future research in this area.