Family communication and
religiosity related to substance use and sexual behavior in early adolescence:
A test for pathways through self-control and prototype perceptions
Thomas Ashby Wills, Frederick X.
Gibbons, Meg Gerrard, Velma McBride Murry, Gene H. Brody
(2003) Psychology of
Addictive Behaviors, 17(4), 312-323.
This research tested predictions
about pathways to substance use and sexual behavior with a community sample of
297 African American adolescents (M age: 13.0 years). Structural modeling indicated that
parent-adolescent communication had a path to unfavorable prototypes of
substance users; quality of parent-adolescent relationship had paths to good
self-control, higher resistance efficacy, and unfavorable prototypes of
sexually active teens; and religiosity had inverse direct effects to both
substance use and sexual behavior.
Self-control constructs had paths to prototypes of abstainers, whereas
risk taking had paths to prototypes of drug and sex engagers and direct effects
to outcomes. Prototypes had paths to
outcomes primarily through resistance efficacy and peer affiliations. Effects were also found for gender, parental
education, and temperament characteristics.
Implications for self-control theory and prevention research are
discussed.