This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Kirby, J. B. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

From Single-Parent Families to Stepfamilies

Is the Transition Associated With Adolescent Alcohol Initiation?

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland

This study addresses two questions: Is stepfamily formation associated with the likelihood that adolescents will initiate alcohol use, and if so, does this association differ by the type of single-parent families from which adolescents move or the type of stepfamilies to which they move? The author found that adolescents who moved to stepfamilies from single-parent families had an elevated risk of initiating alcohol use. A transition from a divorced single-parent family to a stepfamily is associated with an increase in alcohol initiation among boys, but a transition from an unwed single-parent family to a stepfamily is not. In contrast, girls who transition from an unwed single-parent family to a stepfamily show an elevated likelihood of initiating alcohol use, whereas those who transition from divorced single-parent families do not. Adolescents who move to cohabiting stepfamilies do not respond differently than do adolescents who move to married stepfamilies regardless of gender.

Key Words: stepfamilies • adolescents • alcohol

Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 27, No. 5, 685-711 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X05284855


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?