A major emphasis within the parental knowledge literature has focused on developmental or grade level differences in the effect of parental knowledge on substance use, especially knowledge gained through parental monitoring (Stattin & Kerr, 2000). Studies generally have found that parental knowledge has a greater impact on substance use among early adolescents (i.e., 6–8th graders) than middle adolescents (i.e., 9th–10th graders), but that this effect is significant for both age groups (Li et al., 2000; Pilgrim et al., 2006). No research has explicitly reported on such developmental or grade level differences among African American adolescents, but previous research has shown that as African American adolescents age, parents have trouble gaining knowledge of their child’s daily life (Forehand & Jones, 2002).
