Eastern Kentucky University
The Effects of Parent and Family Attachment on Adolescent Drug Use
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Dan Florell
Abstract
Adolescent drug use and its causes is something of high interest and concern. With the growing concern about adolescent drug use, it is important to investigate its root causes to encourage effective interventions and programming. This project investigates how the attachment adolescents have with their caregivers affects their frequency of drug use. Students filled out an in school survey in which they indicated who lives in their home with them, their attachment level to their caregivers, and their frequency of drug use. Adolescents were put into experimental groups depending on the number of "caregivers" they have living in their home with them. Caregivers were defined as mothers, fathers, stepmothers, and stepfathers. They answered questions concerning how close they felt to their caregivers, how clear the rules of their home are, and how supervised they feel they are by their caregivers. To indicate drug use frequency, they answered questions about how often they had used specific drugs during a specified time frame. Results indicated that with fewer caregivers in the home adolescents were less likely to feel a strong attachment to their caregivers and were more likely to engage in frequent drug use. A regressional analysis revealed that the relationship between the number of caregivers in the home and drug use is mediated by attachment.
The Effects of Parent and Family Attachment on Adolescent Drug Use
Adolescent drug use and its causes is something of high interest and concern. With the growing concern about adolescent drug use, it is important to investigate its root causes to encourage effective interventions and programming. This project investigates how the attachment adolescents have with their caregivers affects their frequency of drug use. Students filled out an in school survey in which they indicated who lives in their home with them, their attachment level to their caregivers, and their frequency of drug use. Adolescents were put into experimental groups depending on the number of "caregivers" they have living in their home with them. Caregivers were defined as mothers, fathers, stepmothers, and stepfathers. They answered questions concerning how close they felt to their caregivers, how clear the rules of their home are, and how supervised they feel they are by their caregivers. To indicate drug use frequency, they answered questions about how often they had used specific drugs during a specified time frame. Results indicated that with fewer caregivers in the home adolescents were less likely to feel a strong attachment to their caregivers and were more likely to engage in frequent drug use. A regressional analysis revealed that the relationship between the number of caregivers in the home and drug use is mediated by attachment.