Prospective relations between growth in drinking and familial stressors across adolescence.

Abstract

Although there is much empirical support for the relation between stress and alcohol consumption in adolescence, it is unclear whether exposure to stressors is associated with overall trajectories or temporary elevations in drinking. Moreover, little research has explored whether the stress-alcohol use association in adolescence may be explained by shared risk factors that produce both individual differences in stress exposure and elevated risk for alcohol use. The current study tested these hypotheses within the context of a state-trait model of family stressors in a prospectively studied sample of children at high risk for alcoholism: children of alcoholic parents and matched controls (n = 451). Levels and growth in alcohol use were modeled longitudinally from ages 13 to 17. Results indicated that shared risk factors accounted for 53% of the impact of trait family stressors on growth in adolescent drinking, but time-specific exposure to familial stressors still predicted short-term boosts in alcohol use in adolescence. These findings imply that trait familial stressors mark adolescents at risk for alcohol use, and also impact adolescent alcohol use within a short time frame (i.e. over a year versus over many years) when they occur above and beyond the adolescent's "usual load" of stressors.The experience of stress is commonly theorized to be a risk factor for adolescent alcohol use (Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992). Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that adolescents who experience family stressors exhibit increased alcohol use (see reviews by Cerbone &Larison, 2000 andGrant et al., 2003). Although the majority of studies have explored the impact of stressors on the level of alcohol use, advances in growth curve modeling have produced research on the impact of family stressors on change in alcohol use across adolescence. For example, Wills, Sandy, Yaeger, Cleary and Shinar (2001) found that stressors were positively related to both initial levels of alcohol use at grade 7 and greater growth in alcohol use from grade 7 to grade 9. Similarly, Aseltine & Gore (2000) used HLM to show that during adolescence and young adulthood (aged 11-25) stressors in the past year accounted for time-specific increases in alcohol use that went above and beyond the effects of age related increases in drinking. Taken together, these studies suggest that between-individual differences Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kevin M. King, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle WA 98195-1525, kingkm@u.washington.edu. . Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived fro...

Reciprocal associations between PTSD symptoms and alcohol involvement in college: A three-year trait-state-error analysis.

“…Though this theory has dominated the PTSD-alcohol literature, as noted, the evidence for a self-medication pathway has been limited when tested in adolescent and college samples (e.g., Colder & O’Connor, 2005; Colder et al, 2010; Ham et al, 2009; King, Molina, & Chassin, 2009; Read et al, 2012; Read & O’Connor, 2006). …”

“…Findings from this work have been somewhat mixed. For example, King et al (2009) examined yearly assessments of both state and trait dimensions of family stress to predict latent alcohol trajectories during adolescence (ages 13–17). These authors found that state family stress was directly associated with alcohol use within each time point.…”

A Systematic Review of Interventions to Reduce Stress in Adolescence

“…Research has shown that stress in adolescence is related to health-risk behaviors, such as alcohol and other substance use (King, Molina, & Chassin, 2009;Wills, Sandy, Yaeger, Cleary, & Shinar, 2001), as well as smoking (Finkelstein, Kubzansky, & Goodman, 2006). A study of 451 adolescents, ages 13-17 years, with alcoholic parents and a matched control found that stressors were related to adolescents' alcohol use and predicted short-term increases in use (King, Molina, & Chassin, 2009).…”

“…A study of 451 adolescents, ages 13-17 years, with alcoholic parents and a matched control found that stressors were related to adolescents' alcohol use and predicted short-term increases in use (King, Molina, & Chassin, 2009). Stress has also been associated with poor dietary habits in adolescents.…”

Translational Models of Interactions Between Stress and Alcohol Consumption: Strengths and Limitations

“…Adolescent alcohol or stress exposure can dramatically promote future alcohol intake both in humans (Dawson et al 2007;Enoch 2011;King et al 2009;Pilowsky et al 2009) and in preclinical rodent models (Fullgrabe et al 2007;Schramm-Sapyta et al 2008;Spear and Varlinskaya 2010;Wills et al 2010). Adolescence is thus a time of particular risk and an important period for targeted intervention.…”