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Source: School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Kirkland, Kristen A.
Parental Physical Illness and Adolescents' Engagement in Delinquent Activities and Substance Use
Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany, 2008
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Illnesses; Mothers, Health; Parent-Child Interaction; Parental Influences; Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Substance Use

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Understanding the relationship between parental physical illness and youth outcomes is of vital importance in promoting positive youth development. Given the long-term consequences that delinquency and substance use can have on youth, it is surprising that very little attention has been paid to understanding how having a parent with a serious physical illness influences youth's engagement in these activities. Using data from 2886 adolescents and their mothers from Round 1 and Round 4 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), this research employed the Life Model of Social Work Practice to (1) clarify the relationship between maternal physical illnesses and adolescents' engagement in delinquency and substance use, (2) examine parenting processes, such as engagement in family routines, parental monitoring, and the parent-youth relationship, as mechanisms by which maternal illnesses affected adolescents' outcomes when they were between the ages of 12 to 14, and again when they were between the ages of 15 to 17, and (3) explore gender differences in adolescents' outcomes when mothers were ill. These models were tested with a structural equation modeling program using a full information maximum likelihood estimation approach. Results indicated that maternal illnesses directly increased adolescents' substance use. Disrupted parenting mediated the relationship between maternal illnesses and adolescents' engagement in delinquency and substance use. Additionally, gender differences were identified in the mediation of parental physical illnesses and adolescents' engagement in delinquency, but not for substance use. Specifically, the findings suggested that girls' outcomes were more affected by early parenting disruptions, while boys' outcomes were more affected by later parenting processes. Results also suggested that these relationships were long-term, as evidenced by significant indirect paths between maternal illnesses and adolescents' outcomes when youth were three years older. These findings imply that early experiences with maternal illness and disrupted parenting set into motion maladaptive behaviors which are likely to persist over the long-term. Therefore, preventive interventions should occur early on in the diagnosis of maternal illness to help families anticipate and prepare for disruptions in parenting and enhance parents' abilities to parent effectively.
Bibliography Citation
Kirkland, Kristen A. Parental Physical Illness and Adolescents' Engagement in Delinquent Activities and Substance Use. Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany, 2008.