Pathways from adolescent parent-child conflict to substance use disorders in the fourth decade of life

This 24-year community longitudinal study provides important information regarding parent-child conflict in adolescence (mean ages 14-16), vulnerable personality attributes and peer deviance in the twenties (mean age 22), and marital conflict and partner's illicit drug use in the late twenties and early thirties (mean ages 27-32) as related to a later diagnosis of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the thirties (mean ages 32-37). A community-based sample was interviewed between 1975 and 2007. Results based in structural equation modeling indicated that a weak parent-child bond was related to the development of drug-conducive personality traits, which was associated with the selection of drug-using peers and partners, which in turn, predicted SUDs. Both peer deviance and partner's illicit drug use had the greatest effects on SUDs. The findings should aid in formulating prevention and treatment programs targeting specific risk factors in adolescents, young adults, and adults.