Intergenerational Roots of Early Onset Substance use

Abstract

This study examines intergenerational continuity in drug use across three generations of respondents in the same family. The data are from the Rochester Intergenerational Study, an ongoing, prospective, multi-generational investigation using a community-based sample. Our findings indicate that there is intergenerational continuity in drug use for Generation 2, or G2 daughters, but not sons, of G1 mothers. Use by G3 is significantly influenced by both G2 mothers and G1 grandmothers. However, for children of G2 fathers, neither prior generation's substance use is significantly related to G3 use. There is some indication that the absence of an effect from G2 fathers to G3 drug use is due to the number of nonresident fathers in the sample.