Abstract
Background. Offspring of teenage mothers are at greater risk of early drug use. Research has identified a child behavior checklist (CBCL) profile for children with high levels of comorbid behavior problems, the dysregulation profile (DP), as another risk factor for drug use. Method. Teenage girls (12–18 years old; 71% African-American, 29% White) were recruited during pregnancy. Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10, and 14 years old (n = 318). Mothers completed the CBCL when children were at ages 6 and 10, and children who scored 60 or higher on all 3 DP subscales (aggression, anxiety/depression, and attention problems) were categorized as dysregulated. At ages 10 and 14, the offspring (50% male, 50% female) reported on their cannabis use and completed the childhood depression inventory (CDI). Results. DP at age 6 and depressive symptoms at age 14 predicted recent cannabis use in the offspring. There was a significant interaction between race and pubertal timing such that White offspring who matured earlier were at greater risk of recent cannabis use. Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that it may be possible to identify a subset of children at risk of dual diagnosis as early as age 6.
Highlights
Researchers have identi ed a child behavior checklist (CBCL) pro le for children with high levels of comorbid aggressive behavior, anxiety/depression, and attention problems, the Dysregulation Pro le (DP). is pro le, rst identi ed by Biederman et al [1], was initially considered junior or pediatric bipolar disorder and was labeled CBCL-PBD
Participants were informed about con dentiality and assured that their information was protected by a Certi cate of Con dentiality issued by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Descriptive statistics for the predictors of recent cannabis use are presented in Table 1, including the mean, standard deviation, and range of continuous variables
Summary
Researchers have identi ed a child behavior checklist (CBCL) pro le for children with high levels of comorbid aggressive behavior, anxiety/depression, and attention problems, the Dysregulation Pro le (DP). is pro le, rst identi ed by Biederman et al [1], was initially considered junior or pediatric bipolar disorder and was labeled CBCL-PBD. Harden et al [37] found that having a teenage mother predicted internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, using sibling and childrenof-twins analyses In both of these studies, the investigators were able to control for genetic and environmental confounds associated with having a young mother, to isolate the effect of younger maternal age from the effects of lower maternal education and being raised in a disadvantaged environment. It is unknown if there is a greater risk of DP in these offspring, and if childhood DP is a risk factor for their early cannabis use. We included child characteristics such as gender, depressive symptoms, early puberty, and early peer substance use. e goal of this study was to determine if childhood DP predicted cannabis use at age 14 in these highrisk children, even a er controlling for depressive symptoms
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