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Is early fatherhood associated with alcohol and other drug use?
Journal of Substance Abuse, 6, 337-343 (1994)
BRIEF REPORT
Is Early Fatherhood Associated With Alcohol and Other Drug Use? Kenneth Christmon Irene Luckey Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey
This study compared young men (under age 23) who were fathers with those who were not to determine if early fatherhood was associated with substance abuse and psychosocial problems related to substance abuse. Drawing on a national longitudinal survey of young men, data from 558 males who had responded to interview questions about their use of alcohol and other drugs were analyzed. Use of alcohol by young fathers was less frequent than nonfathers, yet fathers were more likely to report problems associated with cocaine use. Helping professionals need to be alert to the potential for substance abuse among young fathers.
Y o u n g f a t h e r s , t h o s e w h o b e c o m e p a r e n t s at 21 y e a r s o f a g e o r y o u n g e r , m a y b e p a r t i c u l a r l y v u l n e r a b l e to stress. I n a d d i t i o n to t h e u s u a l stresses o f a d o l e s c e n t a d j u s t m e n t , t h e s e y o u n g m e n m a y face t h e stresses o f lost c h i l d h o o d a n d p r e m a t u r e f i n a n c i a l b u r d e n . S e v e r a l s t u d i e s h a v e s h o w n t h a t a d o l e s c e n t stress a n d a n x i e t y a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a l c o h o l a n d o t h e r d r u g ( A O D ) u s e (Bailey, 1989; B r a n n o c k , S c h a n d l e r , & O n c l e y , 1990; L a b o u v i e , 1986). A l t h o u g h it is l i k e l y t h a t t h e s t r e s s o f e a r l y p a r e n t i n g m a y b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h A O D by y o u n g f a t h e r s , this h y p o t h e s i s h a s n o t b e e n t e s t e d p r e v i o u s l y . T h a t is t h e p u r p o s e o f this study. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a d o l e s c e n t stress a n d A O D is n o t a s i m p l e o n e . S t r e s s m a y p r e c i p i t a t e t h e u s e o f a l c o h o l a n d d r u g s , b u t it is p o s s i b l e t h a t a d o l e s c e n t d r u g use, b y d i m i n i s h i n g i n h i b i t i o n s , m a y also i n c r e a s e t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f unprotected intercourse and fatherhood. The young man may then find himself in a n u n a n t i c i p a t e d s i t u a t i o n , o n e t h a t is likely to c r e a t e f u r t h e r stress, w h i c h in t u r n c a n l e a d to g r e a t e r A O D use.
The data and tabulations utilized in this publication were made available by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI. The data for National Survey of Children: Wave I, 1976, Wave II, 1981, and Wave llI, 1987 were originally collected and prepared by Zill, Furstenberg, Peterson, and Moore (1990). Neither the collector of the original data nor the consortium bear any responsibility here. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Kenneth Ghristmon or Irene Luckey, Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, 536 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
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A D O L E S C E N T FATHERS A N D USE OF ALCOHOL A N D OTHER DRUGS
Since the late 1970s, interest in teenage fathers has generated a great deal of research. Although this research yielded valuable information on teenage fathers and their experiences, many gaps remain in the understanding of parental behavior of teenage males. Adult expectant and new fathers have been shown to be at risk for stress (Cowan, 1988; Robinson & Barret, 1986). Adolescent fathers also often face extreme stress (Panzarine & Elster, 1983). For example, in an early study, Caughlan (1960) found that young fathers experienced stress associated with their financial abilities to meet the needs of their children and their anxieties about fulfilling their parental role. Connor (1988) confirmed Caughlan's finding among Black males. In addition to the stress associated with fatherhood, adolescents must cope with the stress of "normal" psychological development. The psychological immaturity of some adolescent fathers not only contributes to the stress that they experience, but also influences their capability to manage that stress (Elster & Lamb, 1982). All adolescents experience a phase of rapid psychological development, during which they develop a mature self-identity. Not until this occurs does an adolescent father have the self-esteem to deal with the considerable stress generated by the birth of his child (Elster & Panzarine, 1981). Because of immaturity, young fathers may be more vulnerable to stress than their peers and thus they may be at greater risk for developing problems associated with AOD. Young males who become fathers may be more willing than nonfathers to engage in risky behavior, such as using or selling illegal drugs or involvement in criminal activity. In a study of poor Black teenagers, Rivara, Sweeney, and Henderson (1985) found young fathers and nonfathers differed on a number of factors, such as early age premarital sexual intercourse, frequency of sexual activity, and lack of knowledge about pregnancy and contraception. They also found that young fathers tended to minimize the disruption of premature parenthood. Pauker (1971) examined the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores of young fathers just prior to their becoming parents. He found that young fathers tended to be more active and somewhat less controlled than nonfathers. Pirog-Good (1985) found that young fathers and delinquents shared many characteristics: Fathers were more likely to have been involved in crime prior to the birth of their children than similarly aged males not named in paternity suits. Furthermore, young fathers, criminal behavior, including AOD-related offenses, increased at the time of the birth of their children. Instead of viewing alcoholics as a single entity or homogenous group, Cloninger, Sigvardsson, and Bohman (1988) separated alcoholics into two groups: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 2 alcoholism is associated with early onset of alcohol-related problems, impulsivity, aggression, ~mpatience, confidence, talkativeness, activity, risk taking, thrill seeking, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior. Type 1 adult onset alcoholics tend to exhibit somewhat opposite traits such as anxiety, inhibition, and passivity. Some traits of young fathers and Type 2 alco-
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holics appear rather similar, for example, impulsivity, being active, and taking risks. Whereas stress and anxiety for some fathers may be unmanageable or overwhelming, other fathers do manage to cope. Many young fathers are involved in the lives of their children (Christmon, 1990; Rivara, Sweeney, & Henderson, 1986). These fathers may be more responsible than their nonfather peers in controlling their use of AOD. Some young fathers have reported that they ended their partying, drinking, and fighting because of their children (Panzarine & Elster, 1983). Although transition to fatherhood can be stressful, it also can be rewarding and gratifying (Belsky & Miller, 1986). As young fathers begin to identify and accept their new parental role, they may participate less in risky behaviors. These young fathers have successfully managed the stresses associated with parenthood. During the last 30 years AOD use has become a significant problem facing families and communities throughout the United States. Whereas adolescent AOD use has decreased in the last few years, adolescents continue to use AOD at high levels (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1991). According to the National High School Senior Survey (NHSSS) conducted in 1990, 90.7% of all seniors reported having ever used alcohol, and 33% reported having drunk five or more drinks in a row on at least one occasion in the past 2 weeks (Johnston et al., 1991). Sixty percent of the seniors had used alcohol in the ninth grade or earlier. The National Household Survey conducted in 1990 reported that 17.4% of all young people had tried marijuana and 6.4% had used marijuana in the past month (NIDA, 1991). The NHSSS reported that almost 4% of high school seniors had used PCP at least once and 1.4% had used PCP in the past month. The National Adolescent School Health Survey conducted in 1987 found that almost 5% of these students had used cocaine during the past month, and another 5% of these students had used the crack form of cocaine (NIDA, 1988). Given the high prevalence of AOD among adolescents, the usual stresses associated with early fatherhood, and the association between AOD and stress, it can be predicted that young fathers will be more prone to use AOD. In this study the following hypotheses were tested. Compared to nonfathers, young fathers (those who fathered a child at the age of 21 or earlier): (1) more frequently use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs; (2) are more likely to report psychosocial problems when they use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs; (3) begin to use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs at an earlier age; and (4) are more likely to sell illegal drugs.
METHOD Subjects Data were analyzed from the National Survey of Children, Wave III, 1987, a longitudinal study conducted by Children Trends, Inc. (Zill, Furstenberg, Peterson, & Moore, 1990). The original sample was a random multiple-stage stratified sample. T h e study population was children living in the contiguous United
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States who were born between September 1, 1964 and December 31, 1969. Wave I of data collection in the study began in 1976 with a sample of 2,301 children; African American households were oversampled to include about 500 African American youths. In 1981, Wave II of the study was completed. Wave III of data collection was concluded in 1987. The purpose of the Wave III was to examine the social, psychological, and economic well-being of sample members as they became young adults. In particular, their sexual and fertility behaviors were the focus of interest. In Wave III, 558 males and 589 females completed the interviews. Of the males in the sample, 48 had become fathers prior to their 21st birthday. At the time of the interview the ages ranged from 17 to 22. Three quarters of the sample were White, 21% were African Americans and 1% were Hispanic. Over half the sample had finished high school and almost one third had attended college. Respondents were paid $10 each for their participation. For encouragement, incentives were given to interviewers who met with five or more respondents. This study compared 48 young fathers with 4 I0 peers who had not fathered children; 100 cases were rejected because of missing data.
Interviews Interviewers asked youths if they ever had used alcohol or other drugs. Youths were asked about the frequency of their AOD use within the last 12 months, once each for alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, which was scored as follows: daily (1), at least once a week (2), at least once a month (3), less often (4), and not at all (5). They also were asked if alcohol, marijuana, or any other drug had caused problems with their health, a fight, difficulty with job or school performance, trouble with the police, an accident, financial difficulty, led them to steal something, or created difficulty with their partners or their families. Three problem scales were developed: one each for alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. The problem scales were scored to tally the number of areas in which the youths reported having difficulty. Scores ranged from 0 to 9: no problems from the substance (0) to substance-induced problems in all areas previously mentioned (9). Interviewers also asked users to report the age at which they first used each substance. Youths also were asked if they had sold marijuana or "hard drugs" within the last 12 months and how many times they had done so.
Quality of Data Only 68% of the sample from Wave 1 were interviewed through Wave III. The attrition rate was higher among African poor urban youth, and youth who had smoked or used alcohol by the time of Wave II. The sample was reweighted to account for these factors. Nevertheless, some biases remained in the data for the groups just mentioned. Therefore, some caution is necessary when generalizing from these data. In terms of sexual behavior, youths responded similarly to other youths in other national surveys: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and National Survey of Family Growth (Moore & Peterson, 1989). In terms of AOD
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use, the responses were similar to those of other youths in the National Household Survey (N IDA, 1991) and National High School Senior Survey (Johnston et al., 1991). These comparisons suggest that the National Survey of Children data were representative of youth nationally based on convergent validity. The original investigators did not report information on survey reliability. RESULTS The first hypothesis was confirmed: Young fathers had a higher frequency of alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use based on multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), F(3,440) = 4.04, p = .006. Follow-up univariate analyses indicated that nonfathers reported a higher frequency of alcohol use than fathers, F(I, 456) = 10.02, p = .002. The differences in frequencies of marijuana and other drug use between fathers and nonfathers were not significant. The second hypothesis was confirmed: Young fathers are more likely than nonfathers to report problems associated with (a) alcohol, (b) marijuana, and (c) other drugs, F(3,440) = 4.04, p = .007. Other drugs primarily included cocaine and crack. Follow-up univariate analysis indicated that fathers are more likely to report having problems with cocaine than nonfathers, F(1, 442) = 12.16, p = .001. Similar findings were not found with alcohol and marijuana. The third hypothesis was not confirmed. Because the number of youth who used drugs other than alcohol and marijuana was too small to use MANOVA, univariate analysis was used on data from youth who used alcohol and/or marijuana. The age when young fathers first used alcohol and marijuana was not significantly different from nonfathers' age at first use. The fourth hypothesis was not confirmed. Young fathers were no more likely to become involved in the selling of illegal drugs than nonfathers. DISCUSSION In comparison to nonfathers, fathers were more likely to have psychosocial problems associated with drugs other than alcohol and marijuana, but the frequency of their use of alcohol was lower. The former finding is consistent with the report of Pirog-Good (1985) that young fathers are more likely than nonfathers to have been involved in a crime prior to the birth of their children, and their risk of criminal behavior, which includes drug-related offenses, increases at the time of the birth of their children. In this study, fathers reported more cocaine-related problems than nonfathers. This study also is consistent with the findings of Panzarine and Elster (1983) who found that young fathers reported that they decreased their use of AOD because of their children. In this study young fathers' frequency of alcohol use was lower than nonfathers. The inconsistency of the findings of this study and those of Panzarine and Elster (1983) and Pirog-Good (1985) suggests that more research is needed on young fathers' use of AOD with unbiased samples. Panzarine and Elster used a small convenience sample of fathers who were involved in the lives of their chil-
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d r e n . P i r o g - G o o d (1985) d r e w h e r s a m p l e o f f a t h e r s f r o m the M a r i o n C o u n t y District O f f i c e a n d the J u v e n i l e C o u r t . I n this s t u d y f a t h e r s c a m e f r o m a r a n d o m s a m p l e , b u t it was n o t clear how involved these f a t h e r s were with their c h i l d r e n . It is possible that the f a t h e r s w h o are involved in the lives o f their c h i l d r e n use A O D less, w h e r e a s f a t h e r s w h o are n o t involved with their c h i l d r e n use A O D m o r e . A n o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n is that f a t h e r s w h o use alcohol less m a y have m o r e social s u p p o r t . Social s u p p o r t b u f f e r s individuals f r o m the effects o f stressors (Vaux, 1988). T h e s u p p o r t t h a t y o u n g f a t h e r s receive f r o m f r i e n d s a n d relatives m a y help to d e c r e a s e a n y anxiety o r stress y o u n g f a t h e r s are likely to e x p e r i e n c e . W o r k e r s w h o p r o v i d e services to y o u n g f a t h e r s c a n n o t i g n o r e t h e possibility o f their clients' A O D i n v o l v e m e n t . Y o u n g f a t h e r s are n o t likely to v o l u n t e e r inform a t i o n a b o u t their use o f A O D b e c a u s e d e p e n d e n c y a n d a b u s e is g e n e r a l l y acc o m p a n i e d by denial a n d social stigma. Clinicians m u s t take t h e initiative to e x p l o r e the use o f A O D with y o u n g fathers. I n the p r o g r a m s t h a t focus o n y o u n g fathers, t h e r e m a y be a n e e d to p r o v i d e services that deal with A O D use. REFERENCES
Bailey, G. (1989). Current perspectives on substance abuse in youth. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 151-162. Belsky, j., & Miller, B. (1986). Adolescent fatherhood in the context of the transition to fatherhood. In A. Elster & M. Lamb (Eds.), Adolescent fatherhood (pp. 89-106). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Brannock, J.C., Schandler, S.L., & Oncley, P.R., Jr. (1990). Cross-cultural and cognitive factors examined in groups of adolescent drinkers. Journal of Drug Issues, 20, 427-442. Caughlan, J. (1960). Psychiatric hazards of unwed paternity. Social Work, 5, 29-35. Christmon, K. (1990). Paternity responsibility and self-image of African American fathers. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 71,563-567. Cloninger, C.R., Sigvardsson, S., & Bohman, M. (1988). Childhood personality predicts alcohol abuse in young adults. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 12, 494-504. Connor, M.E. (1988). Teenage fatherhood: Issues confronting young black males. In J.T. Gibb (Ed.), Young, black, and male in America. Dover, MA: Auburn House. Cowan, P. (1988). Becoming a father: A time of change, an opportunity for development. In P. Brownstein & C.P. Cowan (Eds.), Fatherhood today: Men's changing role in the family. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Elster, A., & Lamb, M. (1982). Adolescent fathers: A group potentially at risk for parenting failure. Infant Mental Health Journal, 3, 148-155. Elster, A., & Panzarine, S. (1981). Unwed teenage fathers: Emotional and health education needs. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 1, 116-120. Johnston, L., O'Malley, P., & Bachman, J. (1991). Drug use among American high school seniors, college students and young adults, 1975-1990: Vol. 1. High school seniors (DHHS Publication No. ADM 91-1813). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Labouvie, E.W. (1986). Alcohol and marijuana use in relation to adolescent stress. International Journal of Addiction, 21,333-345. Moore, K.A., & Peterson, J.L. (1989). The consequences of teenage pregnancy. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (1988). NIDA capsules: Highlights of national adolescent school health survey on drug and alcohol use. Rockville, MD: Author. National Institute on Drug Abuse. ( 1991). National household survey on drug abuse: Main findings 1990 (DHHS Publication No. ADM 91-1788). Rockville, MD: Author. Panzarine, S., & Elster, A. (1983). Coping in a group of expectant adolescent fathers: An exploratory study. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 4, 117-120.
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Pauker, J. (1971). Fathers of children conceived out of wedlock: Pregnancy, high school, psychological test results. Developmental Psychology, 4, 215-218. Pirog-Good, M. (1985). Teenage paternity, child support, and crime. Social Science Quarterly, 69, 527546. Rivara, F.P., Sweeney, P.J., & Henderson, B.F. (1985). A study of low socioeconomic status black teenage fathers and their nonfather peers. Pediatrics, 75, 648-656. Rivara, F.P., Sweeney, P.J., & Henderson, B.F. (1986). Black teenage fathers: What happens when the child is born? Pediatrics, 78, 151-158. Robinson, B.E., & Barret, R. (1986). The developing father. New York: Guilford. Vaux, A. (1988). Social support: Theory, research and intervention. New York: Praeger. Zill, N., Furstenberg, F., Jr., Peterson, J., & Moore, K. (1990). National Survey of Children: Wave I, 1976, Wave H, 1981, and Wave III, 1987 [Computer file]. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc., 1988 (Producer). Ann Arbor, MI: Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research, 1990 (Distributor).
BRIEF REPORT
Is Early Fatherhood Associated With Alcohol and Other Drug Use? Kenneth Christmon Irene Luckey Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey
This study compared young men (under age 23) who were fathers with those who were not to determine if early fatherhood was associated with substance abuse and psychosocial problems related to substance abuse. Drawing on a national longitudinal survey of young men, data from 558 males who had responded to interview questions about their use of alcohol and other drugs were analyzed. Use of alcohol by young fathers was less frequent than nonfathers, yet fathers were more likely to report problems associated with cocaine use. Helping professionals need to be alert to the potential for substance abuse among young fathers.
Y o u n g f a t h e r s , t h o s e w h o b e c o m e p a r e n t s at 21 y e a r s o f a g e o r y o u n g e r , m a y b e p a r t i c u l a r l y v u l n e r a b l e to stress. I n a d d i t i o n to t h e u s u a l stresses o f a d o l e s c e n t a d j u s t m e n t , t h e s e y o u n g m e n m a y face t h e stresses o f lost c h i l d h o o d a n d p r e m a t u r e f i n a n c i a l b u r d e n . S e v e r a l s t u d i e s h a v e s h o w n t h a t a d o l e s c e n t stress a n d a n x i e t y a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a l c o h o l a n d o t h e r d r u g ( A O D ) u s e (Bailey, 1989; B r a n n o c k , S c h a n d l e r , & O n c l e y , 1990; L a b o u v i e , 1986). A l t h o u g h it is l i k e l y t h a t t h e s t r e s s o f e a r l y p a r e n t i n g m a y b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h A O D by y o u n g f a t h e r s , this h y p o t h e s i s h a s n o t b e e n t e s t e d p r e v i o u s l y . T h a t is t h e p u r p o s e o f this study. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a d o l e s c e n t stress a n d A O D is n o t a s i m p l e o n e . S t r e s s m a y p r e c i p i t a t e t h e u s e o f a l c o h o l a n d d r u g s , b u t it is p o s s i b l e t h a t a d o l e s c e n t d r u g use, b y d i m i n i s h i n g i n h i b i t i o n s , m a y also i n c r e a s e t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f unprotected intercourse and fatherhood. The young man may then find himself in a n u n a n t i c i p a t e d s i t u a t i o n , o n e t h a t is likely to c r e a t e f u r t h e r stress, w h i c h in t u r n c a n l e a d to g r e a t e r A O D use.
The data and tabulations utilized in this publication were made available by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI. The data for National Survey of Children: Wave I, 1976, Wave II, 1981, and Wave llI, 1987 were originally collected and prepared by Zill, Furstenberg, Peterson, and Moore (1990). Neither the collector of the original data nor the consortium bear any responsibility here. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Kenneth Ghristmon or Irene Luckey, Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, 536 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
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A D O L E S C E N T FATHERS A N D USE OF ALCOHOL A N D OTHER DRUGS
Since the late 1970s, interest in teenage fathers has generated a great deal of research. Although this research yielded valuable information on teenage fathers and their experiences, many gaps remain in the understanding of parental behavior of teenage males. Adult expectant and new fathers have been shown to be at risk for stress (Cowan, 1988; Robinson & Barret, 1986). Adolescent fathers also often face extreme stress (Panzarine & Elster, 1983). For example, in an early study, Caughlan (1960) found that young fathers experienced stress associated with their financial abilities to meet the needs of their children and their anxieties about fulfilling their parental role. Connor (1988) confirmed Caughlan's finding among Black males. In addition to the stress associated with fatherhood, adolescents must cope with the stress of "normal" psychological development. The psychological immaturity of some adolescent fathers not only contributes to the stress that they experience, but also influences their capability to manage that stress (Elster & Lamb, 1982). All adolescents experience a phase of rapid psychological development, during which they develop a mature self-identity. Not until this occurs does an adolescent father have the self-esteem to deal with the considerable stress generated by the birth of his child (Elster & Panzarine, 1981). Because of immaturity, young fathers may be more vulnerable to stress than their peers and thus they may be at greater risk for developing problems associated with AOD. Young males who become fathers may be more willing than nonfathers to engage in risky behavior, such as using or selling illegal drugs or involvement in criminal activity. In a study of poor Black teenagers, Rivara, Sweeney, and Henderson (1985) found young fathers and nonfathers differed on a number of factors, such as early age premarital sexual intercourse, frequency of sexual activity, and lack of knowledge about pregnancy and contraception. They also found that young fathers tended to minimize the disruption of premature parenthood. Pauker (1971) examined the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores of young fathers just prior to their becoming parents. He found that young fathers tended to be more active and somewhat less controlled than nonfathers. Pirog-Good (1985) found that young fathers and delinquents shared many characteristics: Fathers were more likely to have been involved in crime prior to the birth of their children than similarly aged males not named in paternity suits. Furthermore, young fathers, criminal behavior, including AOD-related offenses, increased at the time of the birth of their children. Instead of viewing alcoholics as a single entity or homogenous group, Cloninger, Sigvardsson, and Bohman (1988) separated alcoholics into two groups: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 2 alcoholism is associated with early onset of alcohol-related problems, impulsivity, aggression, ~mpatience, confidence, talkativeness, activity, risk taking, thrill seeking, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior. Type 1 adult onset alcoholics tend to exhibit somewhat opposite traits such as anxiety, inhibition, and passivity. Some traits of young fathers and Type 2 alco-
Fatherhood and Alcohol and Drug Use
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holics appear rather similar, for example, impulsivity, being active, and taking risks. Whereas stress and anxiety for some fathers may be unmanageable or overwhelming, other fathers do manage to cope. Many young fathers are involved in the lives of their children (Christmon, 1990; Rivara, Sweeney, & Henderson, 1986). These fathers may be more responsible than their nonfather peers in controlling their use of AOD. Some young fathers have reported that they ended their partying, drinking, and fighting because of their children (Panzarine & Elster, 1983). Although transition to fatherhood can be stressful, it also can be rewarding and gratifying (Belsky & Miller, 1986). As young fathers begin to identify and accept their new parental role, they may participate less in risky behaviors. These young fathers have successfully managed the stresses associated with parenthood. During the last 30 years AOD use has become a significant problem facing families and communities throughout the United States. Whereas adolescent AOD use has decreased in the last few years, adolescents continue to use AOD at high levels (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1991). According to the National High School Senior Survey (NHSSS) conducted in 1990, 90.7% of all seniors reported having ever used alcohol, and 33% reported having drunk five or more drinks in a row on at least one occasion in the past 2 weeks (Johnston et al., 1991). Sixty percent of the seniors had used alcohol in the ninth grade or earlier. The National Household Survey conducted in 1990 reported that 17.4% of all young people had tried marijuana and 6.4% had used marijuana in the past month (NIDA, 1991). The NHSSS reported that almost 4% of high school seniors had used PCP at least once and 1.4% had used PCP in the past month. The National Adolescent School Health Survey conducted in 1987 found that almost 5% of these students had used cocaine during the past month, and another 5% of these students had used the crack form of cocaine (NIDA, 1988). Given the high prevalence of AOD among adolescents, the usual stresses associated with early fatherhood, and the association between AOD and stress, it can be predicted that young fathers will be more prone to use AOD. In this study the following hypotheses were tested. Compared to nonfathers, young fathers (those who fathered a child at the age of 21 or earlier): (1) more frequently use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs; (2) are more likely to report psychosocial problems when they use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs; (3) begin to use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs at an earlier age; and (4) are more likely to sell illegal drugs.
METHOD Subjects Data were analyzed from the National Survey of Children, Wave III, 1987, a longitudinal study conducted by Children Trends, Inc. (Zill, Furstenberg, Peterson, & Moore, 1990). The original sample was a random multiple-stage stratified sample. T h e study population was children living in the contiguous United
K. Christmon and I. Luckey
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States who were born between September 1, 1964 and December 31, 1969. Wave I of data collection in the study began in 1976 with a sample of 2,301 children; African American households were oversampled to include about 500 African American youths. In 1981, Wave II of the study was completed. Wave III of data collection was concluded in 1987. The purpose of the Wave III was to examine the social, psychological, and economic well-being of sample members as they became young adults. In particular, their sexual and fertility behaviors were the focus of interest. In Wave III, 558 males and 589 females completed the interviews. Of the males in the sample, 48 had become fathers prior to their 21st birthday. At the time of the interview the ages ranged from 17 to 22. Three quarters of the sample were White, 21% were African Americans and 1% were Hispanic. Over half the sample had finished high school and almost one third had attended college. Respondents were paid $10 each for their participation. For encouragement, incentives were given to interviewers who met with five or more respondents. This study compared 48 young fathers with 4 I0 peers who had not fathered children; 100 cases were rejected because of missing data.
Interviews Interviewers asked youths if they ever had used alcohol or other drugs. Youths were asked about the frequency of their AOD use within the last 12 months, once each for alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, which was scored as follows: daily (1), at least once a week (2), at least once a month (3), less often (4), and not at all (5). They also were asked if alcohol, marijuana, or any other drug had caused problems with their health, a fight, difficulty with job or school performance, trouble with the police, an accident, financial difficulty, led them to steal something, or created difficulty with their partners or their families. Three problem scales were developed: one each for alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. The problem scales were scored to tally the number of areas in which the youths reported having difficulty. Scores ranged from 0 to 9: no problems from the substance (0) to substance-induced problems in all areas previously mentioned (9). Interviewers also asked users to report the age at which they first used each substance. Youths also were asked if they had sold marijuana or "hard drugs" within the last 12 months and how many times they had done so.
Quality of Data Only 68% of the sample from Wave 1 were interviewed through Wave III. The attrition rate was higher among African poor urban youth, and youth who had smoked or used alcohol by the time of Wave II. The sample was reweighted to account for these factors. Nevertheless, some biases remained in the data for the groups just mentioned. Therefore, some caution is necessary when generalizing from these data. In terms of sexual behavior, youths responded similarly to other youths in other national surveys: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and National Survey of Family Growth (Moore & Peterson, 1989). In terms of AOD
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use, the responses were similar to those of other youths in the National Household Survey (N IDA, 1991) and National High School Senior Survey (Johnston et al., 1991). These comparisons suggest that the National Survey of Children data were representative of youth nationally based on convergent validity. The original investigators did not report information on survey reliability. RESULTS The first hypothesis was confirmed: Young fathers had a higher frequency of alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use based on multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), F(3,440) = 4.04, p = .006. Follow-up univariate analyses indicated that nonfathers reported a higher frequency of alcohol use than fathers, F(I, 456) = 10.02, p = .002. The differences in frequencies of marijuana and other drug use between fathers and nonfathers were not significant. The second hypothesis was confirmed: Young fathers are more likely than nonfathers to report problems associated with (a) alcohol, (b) marijuana, and (c) other drugs, F(3,440) = 4.04, p = .007. Other drugs primarily included cocaine and crack. Follow-up univariate analysis indicated that fathers are more likely to report having problems with cocaine than nonfathers, F(1, 442) = 12.16, p = .001. Similar findings were not found with alcohol and marijuana. The third hypothesis was not confirmed. Because the number of youth who used drugs other than alcohol and marijuana was too small to use MANOVA, univariate analysis was used on data from youth who used alcohol and/or marijuana. The age when young fathers first used alcohol and marijuana was not significantly different from nonfathers' age at first use. The fourth hypothesis was not confirmed. Young fathers were no more likely to become involved in the selling of illegal drugs than nonfathers. DISCUSSION In comparison to nonfathers, fathers were more likely to have psychosocial problems associated with drugs other than alcohol and marijuana, but the frequency of their use of alcohol was lower. The former finding is consistent with the report of Pirog-Good (1985) that young fathers are more likely than nonfathers to have been involved in a crime prior to the birth of their children, and their risk of criminal behavior, which includes drug-related offenses, increases at the time of the birth of their children. In this study, fathers reported more cocaine-related problems than nonfathers. This study also is consistent with the findings of Panzarine and Elster (1983) who found that young fathers reported that they decreased their use of AOD because of their children. In this study young fathers' frequency of alcohol use was lower than nonfathers. The inconsistency of the findings of this study and those of Panzarine and Elster (1983) and Pirog-Good (1985) suggests that more research is needed on young fathers' use of AOD with unbiased samples. Panzarine and Elster used a small convenience sample of fathers who were involved in the lives of their chil-
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d r e n . P i r o g - G o o d (1985) d r e w h e r s a m p l e o f f a t h e r s f r o m the M a r i o n C o u n t y District O f f i c e a n d the J u v e n i l e C o u r t . I n this s t u d y f a t h e r s c a m e f r o m a r a n d o m s a m p l e , b u t it was n o t clear how involved these f a t h e r s were with their c h i l d r e n . It is possible that the f a t h e r s w h o are involved in the lives o f their c h i l d r e n use A O D less, w h e r e a s f a t h e r s w h o are n o t involved with their c h i l d r e n use A O D m o r e . A n o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n is that f a t h e r s w h o use alcohol less m a y have m o r e social s u p p o r t . Social s u p p o r t b u f f e r s individuals f r o m the effects o f stressors (Vaux, 1988). T h e s u p p o r t t h a t y o u n g f a t h e r s receive f r o m f r i e n d s a n d relatives m a y help to d e c r e a s e a n y anxiety o r stress y o u n g f a t h e r s are likely to e x p e r i e n c e . W o r k e r s w h o p r o v i d e services to y o u n g f a t h e r s c a n n o t i g n o r e t h e possibility o f their clients' A O D i n v o l v e m e n t . Y o u n g f a t h e r s are n o t likely to v o l u n t e e r inform a t i o n a b o u t their use o f A O D b e c a u s e d e p e n d e n c y a n d a b u s e is g e n e r a l l y acc o m p a n i e d by denial a n d social stigma. Clinicians m u s t take t h e initiative to e x p l o r e the use o f A O D with y o u n g fathers. I n the p r o g r a m s t h a t focus o n y o u n g fathers, t h e r e m a y be a n e e d to p r o v i d e services that deal with A O D use. REFERENCES
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