Open communication and problem communication between African-American sons and mothers: The relationship to adolescent substance use

Adolescent substance abuse continues to be a major social problem in our country. Recent research has identified open communication between the adolescent and his/her parent as one aspect of family interaction, which may function as a potential protective factor against serious substance use. In the following study of 167 adjudicated, African-American adolescent males, mother-son dyads were examined in regard to the degree of "open" and "problem" communication reported by the son. These dimensions of communication (defined by the subscales of the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale) were then regressed with alcohol and drug use composite scores from the ADAD (Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis) to determine the degree of relationship between the substance use and the communication variables. While no direct relationship between adolescent substance use and the communication measures was determined, collateral analyses indicated the existence of strong associations between overall family problems reported by adolescents and those reporting less open and more problems in their communication with their mothers.