School adjustment and substance use in early adolescent boys: association with paternal alcoholism with and without dad in the home

Abstract

The present study examined the association of paternal alcoholism with early adolescent boys’ school adjustment and substance use, and its moderation by paternal absence, controlling for parents’ socioeconomic resources. A community sample of 653 urban, low socioeconomic status (SES) families from Montreal, Canada, was assessed and information collected from parents, teachers, and adolescents’ self-reports, and school records. Paternal alcoholism was significantly associated with boys’ lower academic performance, lower grades, higher frequency of tobacco, marijuana and hard drugs use, of getting drunk, and using a variety of hard drugs. However, the separation from the alcoholic father represented a significant factor of moderation in regard to boys’ substance use: Sons of alcoholic fathers living with their dad in intact families were more likely to use tobacco and marijuana, to get drunk, and to use a variety of hard drugs than their peers not living with their alcoholic father, whether in single-mother or stepfamilies.