Risk Factors Linking Maternal Depressed Mood to Growth in Adolescent Substance Use

Maternal depression has been implicated in the development of adolescent substance use, say these authors. Conceptualizing depression as a continuum, their study examined (a) the relationship between maternal depressed mood and risk factors associated with adolescent substance use; (b) the relationship between maternal depressed mood and level and growth in adolescent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use assessed at multiple time points during adolescence; and (c) the unique and relative contribution of maternal depressed mood after taking into account contextual risk factors related to adolescent substance use. Participants were 792 children and their mothers. In latent growth modeling, child depressive phenomena and child antisocial behavior partially explained the relationship between maternal depressed mood and adolescent alcohol and cigarette use. Mothers' own substance use did not contribute to level or change in adolescent substance use after other risk factors were considered. Modified Author Abstract.