Few studies have used a nationally representative sample, limiting the generalizability of previous findings. For example, Pokhrel, Unger, Wagner, Ritt-Olson and Sussman (2008) found that parental monitoring and parent-child communication were both negatively associated with cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in the past 30 days in a sample of Hispanic adolescents. However, it is unclear whether these patterns are comparable in other ethnic groups because the negative association between parenting and adolescent drug use was found to be stronger for Latino adolescents than for African and White adolescents in another study (Broman, Reckase, & Freedman-Doan, 2006). Therefore, it is also of interest to evaluate the association between parent-child communication and adolescent substance use in a nationally representative sample.
