Parenting and Prevention

We are identifying key aspects of parenting and the parent-child relationship that may help prevent substance use, delinquency, anxiety, and depression during adolescence and young adulthood. Our work informs the development of interventions to strengthen family relationships and promote adolescent well-being.

Prevention is an important avenue to reduce health disparities. Minoritized and underserved youth have a higher incidence of mental and behavioral health challenges due to stress from discrimination, poverty, and barriers to services. Our work identifies strengths in diverse families reflecting racial/ethnic, economic, sexual orientation, gender identity, and geographic diversity.

Below we highlight current and past research studies on parenting and prevention.

Research Studies

Current Studies

The Emerging Adult Study
Young Adult Stress and Support

We are currently analyzing data from two recent studies on parenting during the transition to adulthood and emerging adult (ages 18-25) mental health and risky behavior. Emerging adults report high amounts of stress, which can increase the risk for mental and behavioral health problems. Yet they often lack life experience and coping skills, which can leave them insufficiently equipped to manage their emotional and behavioral responses to these stressors. We have identified specific parenting strategies to help emerging adults manage stress that are associated with reduced risk for emerging adult depression, anxiety, and risky behavior. We are currently examining how specific types of stressors are linked to emerging adult well-being and how parenting may buffer emerging adults from the effects of various types of stress on their mental health. These studies were a collaboration between UNC-Chapel Hill, (PI: Lippold), UNC-Greensboro (Jensen), and community partners at a local community college (Guilford Tech).

We are currently conducting pilot studies on parenting and LGBTQ+ mental health to identify supportive parenting behaviors that can reduce risk for LGBTQ+ mental health challenges. We published a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on parenting and LGBTQ+ youth mental health and substance use. We are currently writing a manuscript about Affirmative Parenting of LGBTQ youth, which identifies six key aspects of supportive parental behavior specific to LGBTQ+ youth identities. We are also analyzing data from 2 pilot studies to understand parent’s thoughts and emotions about their child’s LGBTQ identities, how these thoughts and emotions affect their parenting behaviors, and how these change over time. These studies are informing the development of a new conceptual model of parenting of LGBTQ+ youth and new measures, which will inform future studies and interventions. Many of these studies are in collaboration with Jessica Fish (U of Illinois) as well as Will Hall and Roger Mills-Koonce (UNC).

Select Prior Studies

Parenting Lability and Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health

This study investigated (1) how fluctuations in parenting and parent-child relationships during middle school, which we termed parenting “lability”, related to youth substance use, risky behavior, and mental health and (2) parent characteristics that predicted more lability in parenting. We found that even when controlling for levels and developmental trends in parenting, youth who experience high lability in parenting (both from year-to-year and day-to-day) were at elevated risk for substance use, delinquency, and internalizing problems. These results have been replicated by other researchers on other datasets and samples, suggesting lability is an important and understudied risk factor that may be beneficial to target in interventions.

Parenting and Early Adolescent Substance use and Risky Behavior

We have a series of studies that examined parenting during early adolescence and youth substance use and delinquency. Early adolescence is a critical period in adolescent development, in that early initiation of substance use and delinquency can have long-term negative consequences. Our work has identified patterns of parent-child communication, parental monitoring of youth activities, and interaction patterns that are associated with reduced risk for substance use and delinquency.

Select Publications

1. Lippold, M.A., Jensen M., *Chase, G., *Jenkins, M., *Wyman, K., and Bodemann, G. (2024). Parent strategies to help emerging adults manage stress are associated with their mental health: A dyadic coping perspective. Family Process, 63, 1964-1981.
2. Lippold, M.A., Hall, W., *Williams, D.Y., *Jenkins, M., *Dawes, H., & Mills-Koonce, R. (2025) Parenting and queer youth mental health and substance use: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Adolescent Research Review, 10, 145-168.
3. *Yang, P., Schlomer, G., & Lippold, M. (2023). Mothering vs fathering?  Positive parenting vs. negative parenting? Their relative importance in predicting youth aggression: A longitudinal comparison. Developmental Psychology, 59, 69-83.
4. Lippold, M. A., Hussong, A, Fosco, G. & Ram, N. (2021) Youth internalizing problems and changes in parent–child relationships across early adolescence: Lability and developmental trends. Journal of Early Adolescence, 41, 472-497.
5. Glatz, T., Lippold, M. A., Fosco, G. M., *Jensen, T. & Feinberg, M. E.  (2020). Hostile interactions in the family: What are the patterns and how are they linked to youth externalizing problems? Journal of Early Adolescence, 40, 56-82.
6. Lippold, M. A., Hussong, A., Fosco, G., & Ram, N. (2018). Lability in the parent’s hostility and warmth towards their adolescent: Linkages to youth delinquency and substance use.  Developmental Psychology, 54, 348-361.
7. Lippold, M. A. & *Jensen, T. (2017). Harnessing the strength of families to prevent social problems and promote adolescent well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 432-441.
8. Lippold, M. A., Greenberg, M. T., & Collins, L. M. (2014).  Youths’ substance use and changes in parental knowledge-related behaviors during middle school: A person-oriented approach.  The Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 729-744.

*indicates student or postdoctoral fellow co-author

For more publications visit
Google Scholar
Research Gate
PubMed