• Lorena Peña, Elma I Lorenzo-Blanco, Adriana Pérez, Paola Morello, Edna Arillo Santillan, Christy Kollath-Cattano, James F Thrasher, James Sargent, and Raúl Mejia.
• a Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad (CEDES) , Buenos Aires , Argentina.
• Subst Use Misuse. 2017 Mar 21; 52 (4): 518-526.

BackgroundIn Europe and the United States, family relationships and parenting behavior can influence youth substance use, but less is known about their influence in Latin American countries.ObjectiveTo explore whether parenting behavior is associated with substance use among Latin American youth.MethodsA cross-sectional, school-based survey of middle-school youth (n = 3172) in three Argentinian cities queried tobacco, alcohol, and drug use using items adapted from global youth surveys. Parenting behavior was assessed with previously validated items that tapped into demandingness and responsiveness, separately for mothers and fathers. Multilevel logistic regression models assessed associations between parenting behavior and substance use after adjusting for student characteristics, socioeconomic indicators, sensation seeking, and smoking amongst peers and family members.ResultsSubstance use prevalence was 10% for current smoking, 32% for current drinking alcohol, 17% for past 30-day binge drinking (≥5 drinks), and 8% for previous year illicit drug use (marijuana or cocaine). Greater maternal demandingness was independently associated with lower likelihood of current smoking (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64-0.92), current drinking (AOR = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.71-0.92), binge drinking (AOR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.66-0.99, and drug use (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.61-0.83). No other parenting behavior were independently associated with substance use, except for paternal demandingness and binge drinking (AOR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.74-0.97). For all outcomes, no interactions were found between parenting behavior and student gender.ConclusionsAmong Argentine adolescents, maternal demandingness was the strongest and most consistent correlate of substance use, regardless of adolescent substance use behavior or gender.

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