Abstract
Purpose: The current study was designed to investigate the unique, long-term effects of family routines during adolescence on multiple developmental domains in young adulthood for rural African-Americans. Methods: Prospective data were collected annually for 6 years from 504 rural African-American youth and their parents, beginning when the youth were 16 years of age. Results: Results indicated that youth whose primary caregivers reported more family routines during adolescence (e.g., regularly eating together as a family, consistent bedtime) reported less alcohol use, greater emotional self-regulation, lower epinephrine levels, and higher rates of college/university enrollment in young adulthood. These effects were evident for all outcomes controlling for socioeconomic risk, sex, and available baseline (age 16 years) measures; for a subset of outcomes, the effects of family routines persisted even after taking into account levels of supportive parenting, harsh parenting, and household chaos. Conclusions: Findings substantiate the benefits of consistent, predictable family environments for healthy development and suggest that family routines constitute an important, yet understudied, factor for adolescents’ long-term development.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 340-346 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Adolescent Health |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- African-American
- Alcohol use
- Education
- Epinephrine
- Family
- Routines
- Self-regulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health