Looking more discretely at drug use, Chassin, Curran, Hussong, and Colder (1996) examined the role of parent alcoholism on adolescent substance use. A total of 316 children and adolescents (aged 10.5 to 15.5 years old) were assessed annually at three times. In the sample, 47% were female and 79% were Caucasian American (21% were Hispanic). The researchers found that boys who had alcoholic fathers were at a significantly higher risk of using drugs than girls who did not have alcoholic fathers. The reasoning behind this association was explained, in part, by alcoholism predicting lower levels of parental monitoring. Low levels of parental monitoring subsequently predicted adolescent associations with drug-using peers that predicted an increase in substance use over time.