Journal of Child and Family Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01776-4 ORIGINAL PAPER Parenting Factors Predicting Substance Use and Aggression among Latino/a Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Cultural Values Cixin Wang 1 ● Tanya Nieri 2 ● Kieu Anh Do 3 ● Elizabeth Llanes 4 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract This study seeks to examine the moderating effects of cultural values (Latino values and mainstream American values) on the relations among parenting factors, substance use, and aggression among Latino adolescents using a longitudinal design. Data were collected from 213 Latino 10th graders between October 2011 and May 2012 and were analyzed using path analyses. Latino values at Time 1 negatively predicted substance use norms at Time 2, while mainstream American values at Time 1 positively predicted substance use amount at Time 2, after controlling for substance use at Time 1. Latino values moderated the relations between parental monitoring and substance use. Parental monitoring predicted more substance use among adolescents who reported lower Latino values, but not for adolescents who reported higher Latino values. Mainstream American values moderated the relations between parent-child conflict and substance use. Parent–adolescent conflict predicted more substance use among adolescents who reported higher mainstream American values, but not for adolescents who reported lower mainstream American values. The effects of parental monitoring and parent-child conflict on adolescent substance use are contingent on cultural values. Mainstream American values may enhance the risk of parent- adolescent conflict, whereas Latino values may enhance the protection of parental monitoring in relation to substance use. Keywords Substance use ● Aggression ● Parenting ● Cultural values ● Latino/a adolescents Highlights ● Higher mainstream American values and lower Latino values predicted later substance use. ● Mainstream American values interacted with parent-adolescent conflict to predict substance use. ● Parenting operates in the context of adolescents’ cultural values to predict substance use. Adolescent substance use is a prevalent problem in the United States, with about 20% of 10th graders reporting that they used substances in the past month (Johnston et al. 2018a). Aggression is another significant problem among adolescents, one that tends to co-occur with substance use (Fite et al. 2014). Latino youth constitute a large and growing segment of the U.S. population. They are more likely to use substances (Johnston et al. 2018a) and engage in aggression than Caucasian adolescents (CDC 2014). Considering that substance use and aggression negatively affect short- and long-term academic, employment, and behavioral outcomes (Huesmann et al. 2009; Swendson et al. 2012), it is important to identify factors that protect against these problem behaviors. Research has examined parenting (e.g., Parsai et al. 2009; Voisine et al. 2008; Boyas et al. 2019) and cultural factors (e.g., familism and respect, Toro and Nieri 2018; Marsiglia et al. 2010) as they relate to substance use and aggression among Latino adolescents. Cultural values may * Cixin Wang cxwang@umd.edu 1 Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, Faculty Affiliate Asian American Studies Program, University of Maryland, 3234 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA 2 Department of Sociology, University of California, Watkins 1216, Riverside, CA 92521, USA 3 Department of Human Ecology, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 2103 Richard A. Henson Center, Princess Anne, MD 21853, USA 4 Graduate School of Education, University of California, 1207 Sproul Hall, Riverside, CA 92521, USA 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: