Some research has suggested that parental knowledge may be more of a protective factor for boys (Borawski, Ievers-Landis, Lovegreen, & Trapl, 2003), and that a lack of parental knowledge may be more of a risk factor for girls (Bean et al., 2006; Gorman-Smith & Loeber, 2005; Huebner & Betts, 2002; Li et al., 2000). However, studies of parental knowledge and its relationship to adolescent substance use have not reported gender differences in African American samples or have made gender comparisons when race is a control variable.
