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Title: Do Family Dinners Reduce the Risk for Early Adolescent Substance Use? A Propensity Score Analysis
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Hoffmann, John P.
Warnick, Elizabeth
Do Family Dinners Reduce the Risk for Early Adolescent Substance Use? A Propensity Score Analysis
Journal of Health and Social Behavior 54,3 (2013): 335-352.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022146513497035
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Family Environment; Family Influences; Propensity Scores; Substance Use

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The risks of early adolescent substance use on health and well-being are well documented. In recent years, several experts have claimed that a simple preventive measure for these behaviors is for families to share evening meals. In this study, we use data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (n = 5,419) to estimate propensity score models designed to match on a set of covariates and predict early adolescent substance use frequency and initiation. The results indicate that family dinners are not generally associated with alcohol or cigarette use or with drug use initiation. However, a continuous measure of family dinners is modestly associated with marijuana frequency, thus suggesting a potential causal impact. These results show that family dinners may help prevent one form of substance use in the short term but do not generally affect substance use initiation or alcohol and cigarette use.
Bibliography Citation
Hoffmann, John P. and Elizabeth Warnick. "Do Family Dinners Reduce the Risk for Early Adolescent Substance Use? A Propensity Score Analysis." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 54,3 (2013): 335-352.