Parent Education and Substance Use among Latin American Early Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: We examined the relationship between parent education, at individual- and school-level, and substance use behaviors (smoking, alcohol drinking, binge drinking, and illicit drug use) among young adolescents from Argentina and Mexico. Methods: A cross-sectional, school- based survey of middle school early adolescents from Mexico (N = 10,123) and Argentina (N = 3172) assessed substance use. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, and individual-level parent education, students from Mexican schools with lower parent education had higher likelihood of current smoking and drug use than those from schools with higher parent education. In Argentina, lower parent education at the school-level was positively associated with all outcomes. Conclusion: Disadvantageous contextual school characteristics contributes to substance use among early adolescents in Mexico and Argentina.