Background: In research predominantly from Western countries, studies have been identifying links of parental and peer influences towards adolescent substance use. Evidence from countries that may differ in parental-child relationships across different cultures is limited, e.g. in Argentina, where the prevalence of adolescent substance use is high. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the association between parent-child connectedness and substance use among Argentinian adolescents using the Global School-based student Health Survey (GSHS).

Methods: We analyzed the 2012 Global School-based student Health Survey of 28,368 Argentinian adolescents aged 11 – 17 years. The GSHS is a self-administered survey asking students about the use of substances (alcohol, cigarette smoking, and cannabis), demographic variables, and social and psychological factors. Latent class analyses were conducted to identify patterns of polysubstance use. Associations between parent-child connectedness and polysubstance latent classes were assessed using multinomial logistic regression after adjusting for other factors.

Results: Latent class analysis identified three classes. The first class (67% of the sample) comprised of mainly nonsubstance users and mild alcohol users. The second class (13%) included mainly moderate alcohol/tobacco/cannabis users. The third class (20%) was made up of mainly moderate alcohol/tobacco users and non-cannabis users. Lower parental connectedness was associated with a higher likelihood of polysubstance use (classified as either class 2 or 3) (aOR = 2.49; 95% CI: 2.24, 2.76).

Conclusion: Parental connectedness is an important factor when concerning Argentinian adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use and should be the focus of interventions to prevent substance-related burden among adolescents.