Effect of coping on substance use in adolescent girls: a dyadic analysis of parent and adolescent perceptions

This study retrospectively investigated the relationship between internalising/externalising behaviours, coping behaviours and substance use in adolescent girls using data from 91 mother-daughter dyads. Participants filled out self-or parent questionnaires that incorporated Achenbach's [Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont] Young Adult Behavior Checklist (YABCL) and Young Adult Self-Report Form (YASR) to measure internalising/externalising and drug use, as well as additional questions on coping behaviours. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis, linear regression and structural equation modelling utilising a common fate model for the analysis of dyadic data. The results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between escape/avoidance coping and internalising/externalising and a significant positive relationship between externalising and drug use. Implications for the use of dyadic data and future research are also discussed.