Children with lower executive control in preschool were more likely to experience harsh parenting as adolescents, which in turn predicted higher e-cigarette use, though direct links to cannabis and alcohol use were not significant.
Parents, pediatricians, early childhood educators, and researchers studying developmental pathways to substance use.
Lower preschool self-control linked to teen e-cigarette use through harsh parenting
What the researchers found
Preschool executive control did not directly predict adolescent cannabis, e-cigarette, or alcohol use. However, an indirect pathway was found: lower executive control predicted more harsh parenting in adolescence, which predicted higher e-cigarette use. No indirect effects through parental affective quality were found.
Why it matters
This is one of the few studies tracing how early childhood cognitive abilities influence adolescent substance use through family dynamics. The finding that harsh parenting mediates the link suggests that supporting parents of children with self-regulation difficulties could prevent later substance use.
The numbers in context
313 youth; 49% boys; 70.9% European American; indirect effect from preschool EC to e-cigarette use via harsh discipline: b=-0.07 (95% CI: -0.18 to -0.01); direct effects on cannabis and alcohol nonsignificant
How the study worked
Longitudinal cohort-sequential study of 313 youth (49% boys, 70.9% European American) from preschool through adolescence, assessing executive control, parenting quality, and substance use (e-cigarettes, cannabis, alcohol) via phone surveys.
What this study cannot tell us
Predominantly European American sample. E-cigarette finding may not generalize to other substances. Self-reported substance use. Executive control measured only in preschool.
How to read the evidence
Longitudinal design from preschool to adolescence, but predominantly White sample and indirect effects were small.
When this study was published
Published in 2024.
The bigger picture
Understanding the developmental pathways from early childhood to adolescent substance use can inform when and how to intervene. The parenting pathway suggests that family-level interventions in childhood could have downstream effects on teen substance use.
Questions still open
- Would parenting interventions for families of children with executive control difficulties reduce later substance use?
- Why did the pathway apply to e-cigarettes but not cannabis or alcohol?
Common questions
Can early childhood problems predict teen drug use?
Does harsh parenting cause teen substance use?
Read the original research
Childhood executive control and adolescent substance use: Mediation via parent-child relationship quality.
Family relations, 73(5), 3513-3529
Citation
Patwardhan, Irina; Guo, Ying; Fleming, Charles B; James, Tiffany D; Nelson, Jennifer Mize; Espy, Kimberly Andrews; Nelson, Timothy D; Mason, W Alex. (2024). Childhood executive control and adolescent substance use: Mediation via parent-child relationship quality.. Family relations, 73(5), 3513-3529. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.13061
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