ABSTRACT. Objective: This study examined the association between age at alcohol use onset and adult alcohol misuse and dependence by testing the sensitive-period hypothesis that early adolescence (11-14) is a vulnerable period of development during which initiating alcohol use is particularly harmful. Method: Data came from a longitudinal panel of 808 participants recruited in 1981. Participants were followed through age 33 in 2008 with 92% retention. Results: Onset of alcohol use before age 11 (late childhood), when compared with initiation during early adolescence, was related to an increased chronicity of adult alcohol dependence, even after accounting for sociodemographic controls and other substance use in adolescence. The present study fi nds no evidence that early adolescence is a particularly sensitive period for the onset of alcohol use. Findings related to the onset of regular alcohol use and the chronicity of alcohol dependence suggest that the onset of regular drinking before age 21 is problematic, but no one adolescent period is more sensitive than others. Specifi cally, although all age groups that started drinking regularly before age 21 had a greater rate of alcohol dependence in adulthood, initiation of regular use of alcohol at or before age 14 was not related to greater chronicity of alcohol dependence than the initiation of regular use of alcohol in middle or late adolescence. Conclusions:The fi ndings suggest the importance of delaying the onset of alcohol use through prevention efforts as early as the elementary grades. In addition, prevention efforts should focus on preventing the onset of regular drinking before age 21. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 72,

The present findings support both social causation and social selection arguments, by indicating that unemployment plays a causal role in substance misuse, and that it is also likely that a reverse causal process whereby substance misuse increases the risk of unemployment.

Purpose This study investigates measures of family conflict, family management, and family involvement at ages 10–12, 13–14, and 15–18 as predictors of adult depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder symptoms classes at age 27. The objective was to assess the relative influence on adult outcomes of each family predictor measured similarly at different points in adolescent development. Methods Data are from the Seattle Social Development Project, a theory-driven longitudinal study that began in 1985 with 808 fifth-grade students from 18 Seattle public elementary schools. A Latent Class Analysis of adult outcomes was followed by bivariate and multivariate models for each family predictor. Of the original 808 participants, 747 participants (92% of the original sample) had available data at age 27 on the mental health and substance use latent class indicators. Missing data were handled using full-information maximum likelihood estimation. Results Four latent classes were derived: a “low disorder” symptoms class, a “licit substance use disorder symptoms” class, a “mental health disorder symptoms” class, and a “comorbid” class. Multivariate results show that family conflict is the strongest and most consistent predictor of the adult mental health and substance use classes. Family management, but not family involvement, was also predictive of the adult outcome classes. Conclusions It is important to lessen family conflict and improve family management to prevent later mental health and substance use problems in adulthood.

ABSTRACT. Objective: This study examined potential explanatory mechanisms linking childhood alcohol use onset and chronicity of adult alcohol dependence by testing the following three competing hypotheses: (1) a marker hypothesis, where early onset of alcohol use may be simply a marker for other factors that have been linked to both age at initiation and adult alcohol problems; (2) a compromised development hypothesis, where early alcohol initiation may interfere with adolescent development, which can lead to later alcohol problems; and (3) an increased substance use hypothesis, where early onset of alcohol use may lead to increased substance use in adolescence and, in turn, chronic alcohol dependence. Method: Data came from a longitudinal community sample of 808 participants recruited at age 10 in 1985. Participants were followed through age 33 in 2008 with 92% retention. Results: Childhood onset of alcohol use (before age 11), when compared with initiation during adolescence, predicted an increased chronicity of adult alcohol dependence, even after accounting for the hypothesized confounds from the marker hypothesis. In addition, adolescent compromised functioning did not mediate this relationship between early alcohol use and chronicity of adult dependence (Hypothesis 2), nor did adolescent substance use (Hypothesis 3). However, compromised functioning and substance use in adolescence predicted increased chronicity of alcohol dependence in young adulthood. Conclusions: Prevention efforts as early as the elementary grades should focus on delaying the onset of alcohol use and reducing substance use in adolescence as well as improving school functioning, reducing adolescent problem behaviors, and targeting adolescent peer networks. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 379-390, 2012)

The current study tested whether unemployment predicted young adults’ heavy episodic drinking, cigarette smoking, and cannabis use after taking into account individual development in substance use. Furthermore, building on the life course perspective, this study examined whether the link between unemployment and substance use among young adults differed for those who experienced low childhood SES compared to those who did not. Data for the present study came from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), a panel study examining a broad range of developmental outcomes from ages 10 to 33. A life history calendar (LHC) was administered to assess substance use and unemployment status during young adulthood. Covariates included baseline symptoms of psychopathology, baseline substance use, gender, ethnicity, and adult educational attainment. Results suggest that unemployment is associated with young adults’ heavy episodic drinking and possibly cigarette use, but not cannabis use. Moreover, for all three substances, the detrimental impact of unemployment on substance use seems to be exacerbated among young adults who spent their childhood and adolescence in a lower SES household. Public health efforts that provide other viable and affordable options to cope with unemployment among young adults from low SES backgrounds are needed to address this disproportionate concentration of adverse impacts of unemployment on behavioral health.

Objective The present study is a prospective examination of the relationship between regular marijuana use from adolescence through young adulthood and mental health outcomes at age 33. Methods Data came from a gender-balanced, ethnically diverse longitudinal panel of 808 participants from Seattle, Washington. Outcomes included symptom counts for six mental health disorders. Regular marijuana use was tracked during adolescence and young adulthood. Regression analyses controlled for demographics and early environment, behaviors, and individual risk factors. Results Nonusers of marijuana reported fewer symptoms of alcohol use disorder, nicotine dependence, and generalized anxiety disorder than any category of marijuana users. More persistent regular marijuana use in young adulthood was positively related to more symptoms of cannabis use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and nicotine dependence at age 33. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of avoiding regular marijuana use, especially chronic use in young adulthood. Comprehensive prevention and intervention efforts focusing on marijuana and other substance use might be particularly important in the context of recent legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington and other U.S. states.

This longitudinal study examined a model of early school achievement in reading and math, as it varies by socioeconomic context, using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A conceptual model was tested that included features of family stress, early parenting, and school readiness, through both a single-group analysis and also a multiple-group analysis. Latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups of more advantaged and less advantaged families. Family stress and parenting were shown to operate differently depending on the socioeconomic context, whereas child-based school readiness characteristics were shown to operate similarly across socieodemographic contexts. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Although lower socioeconomic status has been linked to increased youth substance use, much less research has determined potential mechanisms explaining the association. The current longitudinal study tested whether alternative (i.e., pleasure gained from activities without any concurrent use of substances) and complementary (i.e., pleasure gained from activities in tandem with substance use) reinforcement mediate the link between lower socioeconomic status and youth substance use. Further, we tested whether alternative and complementary reinforcement and youth substance use gradually unfold over time and then intersect with one another in a cascading manner. Potential sex differences are also examined. Data were drawn from a longitudinal survey of substance use and mental health among high school students in Los Angeles. Data collection involved four semiannual assessment waves beginning in fall 2013 (N = 3395; M baseline age = 14.1; 47% Hispanic, 16.2% Asian, 16.1% multiethnic, 15.7% White, and 5% Black; 53.4% female). The results from a negative binomial path model suggested that lower parental socioeconomic status (i.e., lower parental education) was significantly related to an increased number of substances used by youth. The final path model revealed that the inverse association was statistically mediated by adolescents' diminished engagement in pleasurable substance-free activities (i.e., alternative reinforcers) and elevated engagement in pleasurable activities paired with substance use (i.e., complementary reinforcers). The direct effect of lower parental education on adolescent substance use was not statistically significant after accounting for the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. No sex differences were detected. Increasing access to and engagement in pleasant activities of high quality that do not need a reinforcement enhancer, such as substances, may be useful in interrupting the link between lower parental socioeconomic status and youth substance use.