Temperament disturbances measured in infancy progress to substance use disorder 20years later

Abstract

Objective This prospective study determined whether temperament before two years of age predicts transmissible risk for substance use disorder (SUD) up to a decade later and SUD outcome in adulthood. Method Boys between 10 and 12 years of age (N = 482) were tracked to age 22. The previously validated transmissible liability index (TLI) was administered at baseline, and temperament prior to two years of age was retrospectively rated. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) was administered to document presence/absence of SUD for parents at baseline and sons at age 22. Results Path analysis revealed that number of parents with SUD predicted severity of temperament disturbance in their sons which in turn predicted TLI score at age 10–12, presaging SUD. Temperament before age two did not predict SUD at age 22. The association between number of SUD parents and transmissible risk was mediated by severity of temperament disturbance. Conclusion Temperament disturbance in early childhood, reflecting quality of behavioral and emotion regulation, comprise psychological antecedents of transmissible risk for SUD.

Circumstances of substance use by street youth in Egypt support the case for intervening to prevent adverse childhood experiences

“…Parenting style that leads to unreasonable expectations of the parents from their adolescent children was reported to affect the onset of addiction among the latter (Hojjat et al, 2016). Parents with substance use disorders were found to have infants with temperament disturbances, which in turn predicted their substance use between the ages of 10-12 years (Horner et al, 2015). Combinations of family and peer risk factors (Tsering & Pal, 2009), in addition to constitutional predisposition (Blackson & Tarter, 1994) and adverse life events (Swadi, 1999) contribute to substance initiation and abuse among youth.…”

Prenatal intimate partner violence exposure predicts infant biobehavioral regulation: Moderation by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene

“…Infant temperament and cortisol, a key hormonal indicator of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, have been identified as prominent indicators of self-regulation and studied in depth during infancy (Enlow et al, 2011;Jansen, Beijers, Riksen-Walraven, & de Weerth, 2010). Early temperament is considered highly stable across development, and has robust associations with later internalizing and externalizing problems (Leve, Kim, & Pears, 2005;Tackett, Martel, & Kushner, 2012), delinquency (Walters, 2014), and substance use (Horner, Reynolds, Braxter, Kirisci, & Tarter, 2015). Similarly, cortisol reactivity has been linked to effortful control and anger during early childhood (Donzella, Gunnar, Krueger, & Alwin, 2000), predicts internalizing problems (Granger, Weisz, McCracken, Ikeda, & Douglas, 1996), and has been linked to depression during childhood and adolescence (Lopez-Duran, Kovacs, & George, 2009).…”

Social–ecological predictors of externalizing behavior trajectories in at-risk youth

“…Difficult temperament in early childhood is consistently linked to later externalizing behaviors (Tackett, Martel, & Kushner, 2012), substance use (Horner, Reynolds, Braxter, Kirisci, & Tarter, 2015), and delinquency (Walters, 2014). Temperamental difficulty may reflect high negative affectivity and difficulties with emotion regulation, and can lead to later angry and uninhibited behaviors (Blair, Denham, Kochanoff, & Whipple, 2004).…”