Development Of Substance Use Research Articles

Are there Gender-Specific Pathways from Early Adolescence Psychological Distress Symptoms Toward the Development of Substance Use and Abnormal Eating Behavior?

The aim of the present longitudinal community study was to test whether psychological distress at 13 years of age predicted reported substance use problems in boys and abnormal eating behavior in girls 2 years later. The sample consisted of 500 male and 576 female students. The use of substances was evaluated using a semi-structured interview, psychological distress with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and eating psychopathology with the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), and the Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh (BITE). Controlling the effect of initial substance use problems, psychological distress predicted later reported substance use problems in males. Girls with an initial score above the cut-off point on the GHQ were two times more likely to be at risk of having an eating disorder 2 years later. Therefore, psychological distress might take different developmental pathways in males and females, leading toward eating problems in the latter versus substance use in the former.

Childhood adversity, poly-substance use, and disordered eating in adolescent Latinas: Mediated and indirect paths in a community sample

Objective Although many studies have identified associations between childhood maltreatment and later substance use and disordered eating, few have examined causal or explanatory pathways, and whether victim characteristics predict the development of one versus the other of these outcomes remains uninvestigated. Furthermore, relatively little childhood maltreatment research has examined Latino samples. To address these gaps, this study examined among Latina adolescents the effects of sexual abuse, physical/emotional abuse, neglect, disconnection from family, and parental alcohol problems on poly-substance use and disordered eating, and whether five individual characteristics explain or differentiate these outcomes. Method Data from a community sample of 361 Latina adolescents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results Physical/emotional abuse predicted poly-substance use and weight concerns, and these associations were mediated by impaired current attachment. Disconnection from family predicted bulimic behaviors, and this association was mediated by dysphoria. One indirect path also emerged: Disconnection from family predicted low social conformity, and low social conformity predicted poly-substance use. Childhood sexual abuse did not uniquely predict any adverse outcome or individual characteristic examined. Conclusions Dysphoria and impaired current attachment appear to play important roles in the development of substance use and disordered eating in Latina adolescents when physical/emotional abuse or disconnection from family predicts these outcomes. Dysphoria and low social conformity may differentiate the development of bulimic behaviors and poly-substance use, respectively, when family disconnection predicts these outcomes.

Challenges in Genetic Studies of the Etiology of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders: Introduction to the Special Issue

Misuse of psychoactive substances is associated with substantial costs to users and to society. A growing literature suggests individual differences in vulnerability to develop substance related problems are influenced to a large degree by genetic factors. We review the evidence from genetic epidemiologic and molecular genetic studies of problematic use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, then discuss the challenges for the next generation of studies of genetic influences on substance use. These challenges are addressed in the remaining papers of this special issue. The papers cover a variety of approaches, substances, and non-human as well as human studies, but are united by their focus on going beyond heritability estimates to address the mechanisms and processes underlying the development of substance use and substance related problems, including measurement, precursors of substance abuse, stages of substance involvement, and specificity of genetic influences.

The consistency of family and peer influences on the development of substance use in adolescence.

Latent growth modeling (LGM) was used to analyse longitudinal data for adolescent substance use from five overlapping age cohorts (11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 years at first assessment) measured at four annual time points. An associative cohort-sequential model was tested for alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use with a sample of 345 adolescents (11-18 years old) from an urban area in the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States. Hypotheses concerning the shape of the growth curve, the extent of individual differences in the common trajectory over time, and the influence of family cohesion, peer encouragement and gender on initial substance use and shape of the growth curve were tested. Results indicated similarities between alcohol, cigarette and marijuana initial use and development, with peer encouragement and family cohesion predictive of initial levels of use, and changes in peer encouragement influencing the developmental trajectories of the three substances. Females were higher than males in initial status and developed less rapidly in their use of the substances than did males. Findings are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in the developmental trajectories of the three substances and the importance of family and peer influences on these trends.

Parents and families as contexts for the development of substance use and substance use disorders.

Parenting and familial influences on substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) are important areas of study both for theories of etiology and for the development of preventive and treatment interventions. The articles in this special section illustrate both the value and the challenges of studying parenting and familial influences. Noteworthy issues include the need for mediational and moderational models examining the processes by which familial influences operate in a longitudinal framework to consider outcomes in a developmental context. Future directions include a multidisciplinary expansion of these studies.

Childhood behavior problems and peer selection and socialization: Risk for adolescent alcohol use

To date, research examining the role of peers in the development of substance use has focused almost exclusively on externalizing behavior problems without considering internalizing behavior problems. This is a notable omission in the literature, because there is some evidence to suggest that internalizing behavior increases risk for substance use, and peers are considered to be among the strongest proximal influences of substance use. The current study considered both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and examined peer socialization and selection models of alcohol use using a 2-year longitudinal design. We examined potential reciprocal relations between internalizing and externalizing behavior and affiliations with delinquent peers, and how these variables predicted initiation of alcohol use. Participants were 86 children (71% male) ranging from 9–12 years of age ( M = 10.87). Results were consistent with socialization, whereby delinquent peer affiliations were associated with increases in externalizing behavior, and subsequently early initiation of alcohol use. There was also evidence to suggest that internalizing behavior served as a protective factor for delinquent peer affiliations and for early initiation of alcohol use. Implications of these findings for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Relation between cognitive distortions and neurobehavior disinhibition on the development of substance use during adolescence and substance use disorder by young adulthood: a prospective study

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated that neurobehavior disinhibition increases the risk for a diagnosis of substance use disorder (SUD). This investigation tested the hypothesis that a deficiency in the capacity to appraise the effects of alcohol and drugs and interpret social interactions mediates the relation between neurobehavior disinhibition in childhood and SUD by early adulthood. Methods: Boys with fathers having lifetime SUD ( N = 88) and no SUD or other psychiatric disorder ( N = 127) were prospectively tracked from ages 10–12 to 19 years. Neurobehavior disinhibition was evaluated at baseline followed by assessments of cognitive distortions and substance use involvement in early and mid-adolescence. SUD outcome was evaluated up to age 19 years. Results: Cognitive distortions (age 12–14 years) mediated the association between neurobehavior disinhibition (age 10–12 years) and marijuana use (age 16 years) which, in turn, predicted SUD by age 19 years. Cognitive distortions in early adolescence did not directly predict SUD by young adulthood. Conclusions: Inaccurate social cognition, significantly predicted by childhood neurobehavior disinhibition, biases development toward marijuana use prodromal to SUD. These results indicate that cognitive processes, in conjunction with psychological self-regulation, comprise important components of the individual liability to SUD.

How can risk be related to interventions for young people who misuse substances?

Purpose of review: The present review examines the available literature to consider the impact of risk factors on young people who use and misuse substances. We discuss the existing evidence to argue that social exclusion and psychiatric disorders constitute the important risk factors in the development of substance misuse. We examine the role that risk factors play by considering recent studies of prevention and treatment. Taken together with previous research on comorbidity of substance use and misuse with psychiatric disorders, there is now strong evidence for indices of deprivation and social exclusion co-occurring with both psychiatric disorders and substance misuse as a triad of interlocking experiences. Recent findings: Recent studies on risk factors and outcomes of interventions suggest that psychiatric disorders and social exclusion can significantly influence pathways not only to substance misuse but also to reduction in use and abstention. However, long-term research is required to substantiate these findings. Studies reviewed here include those conducted in Norway, Holland, USA, UK, Ireland and Australia. Summary: The link between risk factors and effective intervention is clear; only treatments that take into account the diversity of influences on the development of substance use and misuse together with psychiatric disorders are likely to be effective. If the approaches of treatment services are isolated from considerations of broader social, personal and environmental factors, and interventions for those factors, then successful identification of outcomes and improvement in such outcomes in substance using and misusing adolescent persons are less likely.

Interactive effects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder on early adolescent substance use.

This study examined the interactive effects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) diagnosis on early adolescent substance use in a cross-sectional study of 202 middle school students. ADHD diagnosis alone did not suggest increased risk for substance use, but more adolescents with both ADHD and CD reported use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs than did adolescents with either disorder alone. Dimensionally scored impulsivity-hyperactivity symptoms, not symptoms of inattention, appeared to account for the association with ADHD. Results illustrate the need to continue examination of the role of ADHD in the development of substance use and later abuse, especially as it relates to the onset of conduct problems in adolescence that mark liability for early onset substance abuse.

Development of substance use and psychiatric comorbidity in an epidemiologic study of white and American Indian young adolescents the Great Smoky Mountains Study

The progression of substance use and the patterns of comorbidity of substance use and psychiatric disorders are explored prospectively in young adolescents enrolled in the Great Smoky Mountains Study. This study is an epidemiologic study of white and American Indian youths living in rural Southern Appalachia. Results from this study indicate that alcohol use without permission predicts subsequent use of illicit drugs and regular tobacco use. Use of tobacco was not associated with either later alcohol or drug use. Patterns of comorbidity showed strong cross-sectional relationships between substance use and behavioral disorders, but not emotional disorders. Use of alcohol was also associated with psychiatric diagnosis at a later interview. There were some differences between white and American Indian youths in the pattern of comorbidity of tobacco use and psychiatric disorder and the relationship between prior psychiatric disorder and later alcohol use. These findings suggest that alcohol use without permission may be an important marker for youths who are at risk for illicit drug use and/or psychiatric diagnoses.

Intrapersonal Contributors to Drug Use

Although social-environmental factors play a large role in the development of substance use and abuse, other important contributors reside within the individual. These intrapersonal factors help determine certain aspects of the social environment, which may in turn alter the probability of drug use and abuse. In addition, these intrapersonal factors alter chances of initiation, the transition from initiation to regular use of a drug, and the transition from regular drug use to problem use. These factors include (but are not limited to) personality, cognitions, affect, problem behaviors, demographics, and bonding. We explore the potential role of each of these intrapersonal factors in a larger, biopsychosocial model of drug use and abuse. We also discuss the implications of each of these factors for prevention.

The consistency of family and peer influences on the development of substance use in adolescence

The consistency of family and peer influences on the development of substance use in adolescence

Predicting substance use in late adolescence: results from the Ontario Child Health Study follow-up.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs (substance use) and psychiatric disorder in early adolescence and substance use in late adolescence. Adolescents included in the study were identified by means of a household sampling frame and participated in the Ontario Child Health Study in 1983 and the follow-up in 1987. There were 726 12-16-year-olds (369 boys and 357 girls) in 1983 who had complete information in 1987. Data on substance use were collected from adolescents by using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data on psychiatric disorder were collected in 1983 from both adolescents and their parents by using problem checklists to assess conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disorder. Prior substance use in 1983 was associated strongly with subsequent use in 1987. Among the psychiatric disorders assessed in 1983, only conduct disorder made an independent contribution to predicting use of marijuana (relative odds = 3.46) and other hard drugs (relative odds = 6.82) in 1987, after prior use of these substances and coexisting attention deficit and emotional disorders were controlled. Corresponding estimates of attributable risk (the expected contribution of exposure to conduct disorder to the development of substance use) were 5.7% and 11.1%, respectively. Although a statistically significant relationship existed between conduct disorder in early adolescence and use of marijuana and hard drugs in late adolescence, the potential is limited for preventing substance use in the general population by treating conduct disorder early on.