Substance Abuse and Parenting Among African American Mothers of Adolescents

Maternal substance use can alter a mother’s ability to provide positive parenting, yet few studies have examined factors that contribute to perceptions of successful parenting among such an at-risk population. Using data from a sample of 103 mother adolescent dyads, this research examined factors associated with parenting self-efficacy and parenting behaviors among substance abusing (N = 44) and non-substance abusing (n = 59) African American mothers. Parenting efficacy was positively correlated with adolescent academic performance and negatively correlated with adolescent externalizing behaviors among substance abusing mothers. Academic performance of youth uniquely contributed explained variance to parenting efficacy. Efficacy was not associated with youth reported positive parenting behaviors among either group; however, for substance abusing mothers, family and contextual stress as well as social support were negatively associated with positive parenting behaviors. These findings indicate distinct factors influence perceptions of parenting and reported parenting behaviors for substance-abusing mothers. The importance of these factors for the development of parenting interventions among the population is discussed. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.