Sibling Influences on Adolescents' Alcohol and Substance Use Orientations

描述(由申请人提供)：越来越多的研究表明，兄弟姐妹(特别是年长的兄弟姐妹)可能对青少年饮酒有重要影响，他们的影响超出了共同遗传、父母社交和同伴社交的影响。尽管有强有力的证据表明兄妹饮酒与弟弟妹妹饮酒有关，但研究人员一直只能推测导致这种联系的机制。因此，迫切需要确定那些对兄弟姐妹饮酒决定产生积极或消极影响的过程。在缺乏此类信息的情况下，减少兄弟姐妹负面影响的干预战略将仍然有限。这项拟议的研究考察了平行(例如，建模、把关)和差异(例如，兄弟姐妹去识别、非共享环境因素)对过程的影响程度，以及家庭和背景因素(例如，兄弟姐妹关系质量、兄弟姐妹二元体的性别星座、亲子关系、育儿行为)是否调节了这些影响过程的操作。样本包括250对兄弟姐妹，平均分布在四个可能的性别构成组(例如，哥哥、妹妹；哥哥、弟弟)及其居住的父母之一。较年长的兄弟姐妹将上11年级或12年级；较小的兄弟姐妹将上9年级、10年级或11年级。数据收集将包括对父母、年长和年幼的兄弟姐妹进行电话采访，了解他们对酒精和物质的期望、信仰和消费模式、兄弟姐妹和家庭关系质量、同伴关系质量和心理社会功能。关于兄弟姐妹影响过程的性质和背景变量的调节作用的假设将使用包括结构方程建模在内的各种多变量统计来检验。 与公共健康相关：这项拟议的研究调查了青春期兄弟姐妹通过多种途径相互影响对方对酒精和药物使用的决定。具体地说，我们将确定导致兄弟姐妹在青少年饮酒和药物使用方面的相似和不同的心理和行为过程，以及限制他们操作的家庭和家庭外环境。确定这些因素具有重要意义，因为它们的发现将为以家庭为基础的预防和干预措施提供新的目标，旨在遏制青少年酗酒和吸毒。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A growing body of research suggests that siblings (especially older siblings) may be an important influence on adolescents' alcohol use, and that their influence is above and beyond the influence of shared genetics, parental socialization, and peer socialization. Despite strong evidence that older sibling alcohol use is linked to younger sibling alcohol use, researchers have been only able to speculate about the mechanisms responsible for these linkages. There is, therefore, a critical need to identify those processes that either positively or negatively influence siblings' decisions regarding alcohol use. In the absence of such information, intervention strategies for reducing negative sibling influences will remain limited. The proposed study examines the extent to which parallel (e.g., modeling, gate-keeping) and differentiation (e.g., sibling de-identification, non-shared environmental factors) influence processes explain the link between older and younger siblings' alcohol use as well as whether family and contextual factors (e.g., sibling relationship qualities, sex constellation of the sibling dyad, parent-child relationships, parenting behaviors) moderate the operation of these influence processes. The sample includes 250 sibling pairs, evenly distributed across the four possible gender composition groups (e.g., older brother, younger sister; older brother, younger brother), and one of their residential parents. Older siblings will be in Grades 11 or 12; younger siblings will be in Grades 9, 10 or 11. Data collection will involve telephone interviews with parents, older and younger siblings about their alcohol and substance related expectancies, beliefs, and consumption patterns, sibling and family relationship qualities, peer relationship qualities, and psychosocial functioning. Hypotheses regarding the nature of the sibling influence processes and moderating function of contextual variables will be examined using a variety of multivariate statistics, including structural equation modeling. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed study examines the multiple avenues by which adolescent siblings' influence each other's decisions about alcohol and substance use. Specifically, we will identify the psychological and behavioral processes that drive sibling similarities and differences with regard to adolescents' alcohol and substance use, as well as the familial and extra-familial contexts that moderate their operation. The identification of these factors is relevant because their discovery will provide new targets for family- based preventions and interventions aimed at curbing adolescent alcohol and substance use.