Adolescents on a trajectory of early alcohol use initiation have higher levels of stress, have increased threat-related amygdala activity, are more likely to consume a full standard alcoholic drink, are more likely to experience early intoxication, and are at a heightened risk for the onset of an alcohol use disorder.
Background: Adolescence represents a critical developmental period during which the initial onset of depression emerges. Family risk for depression is a salient risk factor for the initial onset of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We examined the effects of familial risk, stress, and behavior on the risk of developing first-onset depression.Methods: Adolescents aged 12 to 15 with high (n = 166) or low (n = 159) familial risk for depression were assessed annually for up to five years. Stress was assessed using the Stressful Life Events Schedule and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version was administered to the adolescents and their parents to assess lifetime psychiatric conditions and diagnose MDD onset. Survival and path analyses were used in tandem to determine the risk for first-onset depression as well as the contributions of additional direct and indirect pathways to onset.Results: High-risk adolescents were eight times more likely to develop first-onset depression compared with low-risk adolescents. The path analyses revealed that the presence of maternal behavioral disorders and increased recent life stress directly predicted an initial onset of MDD in high-risk adolescents.
Limitations:The small samples used in this study limit the generalizability of these findings.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.