Father's absence and drug use in African American adolescents

¶ … Absent Fathers and Drug Abuse

Mandara, Jelani and Murray, Carolyn B. (2006) "Father's Absence and African

American Adolescent Drug Use," Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 46

The authors, an associate professor of Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University and a professor of Psychology at University of California, Riverside, initiated this correlational study to examine the relationship between drug and alcohol abuse in adolescents and absentee fatherhood. More specifically, the researchers set out to study this issue among African-American adolescents in particular, partly because of the comparative absence of such studies in relation to those previously conducted on adolescents of European and other Caucasian descent.

The subject is important within the field because of the high incidence of single-parent families in American society in general and among African-American communities in particular. That is because drug and alcohol abuse is a very significant problem and therefore, identifying every conceivable risk factor is an important element of providing the most effective counseling services for adolescents and their families. More specifically, the individual underlying independent variables that are associated with absentee father families enables therapists to isolate elements of causation irrespective of family structure in connection with all clients and stakeholders potentially affected by adolescent drug and alcohol abuse.

Summary

Purpose and Hypotheses

The main purpose of the study was determine and measure the effects of the father's absence from the family structure on male and female African-American adolescents. The secondary purpose of the study was to determine whether other related factors (i.e. socioeconomic status, parental monitoring, friends' drug use, and neighborhood crime) were independent predictors of adolescent drug use within the population studied. Finally, the study was also intended to address any identifiable discrepancies between male and females in the population studied as well.

Based on the review of prior studies literature, the experimental hypotheses were that adolescents living in single-parent households would exhibit higher incidences of drug abuse than adolescents living in two-parent homes. The secondary hypothesis was that specific independent variables such as the family's socioeconomic status and various other environmental factors would be independent predictors of adolescent drug use.

Design and Methodology

The experimental design was a correlational study using self-reported behaviors elicited through questionnaires. More specifically, the study involved 86 African-American adolescents approximately 16.5 years of age of whom 40 were female and 46 were male; half of the participating adolescents were from two-parent homes and half were from single-parent homes in which only a mother was present. Participants were rewarded for their participation: the adolescents receive $10 remuneration while participating mothers received $25.

All participants filled out questionnaires with adolescents and their mothers in separate rooms. The mothers' questionnaire included question on topics such as parental monitoring habits, parental academic expectations, and on the nature and extent of drug-related activity and crime in the family neighborhood. The adolescents were asked questions on such topics as whether and to what extent they used drugs and whether and to what extent their friends used drugs.

Limitations and Implications for Further Study

The main limitation of the study was a function of the small sample size and the geographic homogeneity of the participants. Another limitation of the study was a function of the inherent limitations of correlational studies. That nature produced empirical data only of the correlation of independent and dependent variables without permitting further conclusions about the specific causative factors responsible for the observed data. The investigation of the individual causative elements would be a natural direction for further study. Another avenue for future study suggested by this study would be the variables specifically responsible for the very different results observed in connection with gender.

Conclusion

This study was important because it furthered understanding of the relationship between family structure and drug use among adolescents. Previous research had investigated smoking among African-American adolescents, and drug use among European-descent and Caucasian adolescents but comparatively little research had been conducted specifically on African-American adolescents. The most important findings were that among African-American adolescents, absentee fathers corresponded to adolescent drug use exclusively among male participants. The study strongly suggests the need for further research to explain that observed discrepancy, particularly in terms of the identifiable underlying factors those results represent.