An Illustrative Review of Substance Use–Specific Insights From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this illustrative, thematic review was to demonstrate the utility of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) for substance use research and to describe substance use–specific insights gained from Add Health research over the past 2 decades. MethodsWe searched multiple electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) and selected an illustrative sample of 40 articles that used Add Health data and longitudinally examined a measure of alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drug use or prescription drug misuse as the exposure or outcome in association with diverse domains of additional factors assessed (social, emotional, behavioral, contextual, biological, and genetic). ResultsIncluded articles identified several key associations between substance use behaviors and additional factors from a wide range of domains. For example, results from several studies indicated that experiences of sexual violence, adolescent dating violence, and intimate partner violence are associated with an increased likelihood of later prescription opioid misuse, heavy drinking, and marijuana use, with some differences by biological gender and race/ethnicity. Results from other studies showed that bidirectional associations between substance use and mental health differ by specific type of substance and mental health condition. DiscussionExisting research using Add Health data has provided valuable insights regarding substance use by leveraging the study's longitudinal design, the prospective nature of data collection, the breadth and depth of substance use questions assessed from adolescence to adulthood, the size and diversity of the cohort, and the wide range of additional factors measured over time.