Adolescent Self-Organization and Adult Smoking and Drinking over Fifty Years of Follow-Up: The British 1946 Birth Cohort.

Atsushi Nishida, ,Diana Kuh,Dorina Cadar,Man K Xu,Timothy Croudace,Peter B Jones,Marcus Richards

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146731

Abstract

Variations in markers of adolescent self-organization predict a range of economic and health-related outcomes in general population studies. Using a population-based birth cohort study we investigated associations between adolescent self-organization and two common factors over adulthood influencing health, smoking and alcohol consumption. The MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort) was used to test associations between a dimensional measure of adolescent self-organization derived from teacher ratings, and summary longitudinal measures of smoking and alcohol consumption over the ensuing five decades. Multinomial regression models were adjusted for sex, adolescent emotional and conduct problems, occupational social class of origin, childhood cognition, educational attainment and adult occupational social class. With all covariates adjusted, higher adolescent self-organization was associated with fewer smoking pack years, although not with quitting; there was no association with alcohol consumption across adulthood (none or heavy compared with light to moderate). Adolescent self-organization appears to be protective against smoking, but not against heavy alcohol consumption. Interpretation of this differential effect should be embedded in an understanding of the social and sociodemographic context in which these health behaviours occur over time.

Highlights

Self-organization has been defined as “effortful regulation of the self by the self” [1], and has various synonyms and related concepts, including self-regulation, self-control, conscientiousness [1], self-efficacy and mastery [2]
Since smoking is a major cause of premature mortality in high income countries [4], and since it tends to cluster with other risky health behaviours, including heavy alcohol intake [5], these health behaviours are likely to be an important mediator of the poor health outcomes observed in the Dunedin study
The Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), known as the British 1946 birth cohort, offers an excellent opportunity for a detailed investigation of smoking and alcohol consumption in relation to self-organization, since the latter was derived from independent teacher ratings when study members were in early adolescence, and repeated measures of smoking and alcohol consumption were obtained over the life course, along with a wide range of potential confounders and mediators, including adolescent emotional and conduct problems

Summary

Introduction

Self-organization has been defined as “effortful regulation of the self by the self” [1], and has various synonyms and related concepts, including self-regulation, self-control, conscientiousness [1], self-efficacy and mastery [2]. Self-organization in childhood is associated with a wide range of outcomes in the general population. The Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), known as the British 1946 birth cohort, offers an excellent opportunity for a detailed investigation of smoking and alcohol consumption in relation to self-organization, since the latter was derived from independent teacher ratings when study members were in early adolescence, and repeated measures of smoking and alcohol consumption were obtained over the life course, along with a wide range of potential confounders and mediators, including adolescent emotional and conduct problems. We hypothesised that adolescent self-organization is independently and inversely associated with smoking and potentially hazardous levels of alcohol consumption

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion