Adolescent substance use and specificity of association with educational attainment in young adulthood

The current paper uses data from a longitudinal study of a high-risk sample to test the relation between adolescent alcohol and drug use and later young adult autonomy, positive activity involvement, and perceived competence. Participants (children of alcoholics and demographically matched controls) were assessed in three annual interviews in adolescence (mean age: 12.7 years at Time 1) and then again 5–7 years later, in young adulthood (median age: 20 years). Path analyses and latent growth curve models tested the effects of adolescent substance use on both self-reported and collateral-reported outcomes, controlling for correlated risk factors (parental alcoholism, adolescent psychopathology, and parental support), preexisting levels of the outcome, and concurrent young adult substance use. Results showed that adolescent drug use had a significant, unique negative effect on later autonomy and perceived competence. Alcohol use effects were more complex. Adolescent heavy drinking was associated with less positive adult outcomes, but more so in collateral reports than in self-reported outcomes. Moreover, young adult heavy drinking was either uncorrelated with or positively correlated with higher levels of perceived competence, suggesting different developmental significance of alcohol use in adolescence than in young adulthood.

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Age sensitive associations of adolescent substance use with amygdalar, ventral striatum, and frontal volumes in young adulthood

Drug and Alcohol Dependence ◽

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.02.007 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 186 ◽

pp. 94-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Windle ◽

Joshua C. Gray ◽

Karlo Mankit Lei ◽

Allen W. Barton ◽

Gene Brody ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Ventral Striatum ◽

Adolescent Substance Use ◽

Adolescent Substance

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Personality, romantic relationships, and alcohol use disorder symptoms in adolescence and young adulthood: An evaluation of personality × social context interplay

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579419001111 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 1097-1112

Author(s):

Diana R. Samek ◽

Brian M. Hicks ◽

William G. Iacono ◽

Matt McGue

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Alcohol Use Disorder ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Romantic Partner ◽

Adolescent Substance Use ◽

Adolescent Substance ◽

Substance Use Problems

AbstractPrior research has shown that person-level characteristics (e.g., temperament, personality) correlate and interact with social-contextual factors (e.g., parent–child relationship quality, antisocial peer affiliation) to predict adolescent substance use, but less research has examined similar processes for adult substance use problems. We addressed this gap by testing for personality × romantic partner context interplay in relation to symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD) at ages 24 and 29. Participants were twins in the longitudinal Minnesota Twin Family Study (N = 2,769; 52% female). Results support the corresponsive principle of personality in that we found that key personality traits in late adolescence (low constraint, negative emotionality) predicted subsequent “selection” into key social contexts in early adulthood (poorer quality romantic relationships and greater romantic partner alcohol use), which subsequently reinforced those traits and associated outcomes (including correlated AUD symptoms) through late young adulthood. There were few meaningful gender differences in these associations. There was also no support for the personality × romantic partner context interaction as a significant predictor of AUD symptoms at ages 24 or 29. Taken together with prior studies, these results suggest that such interactions may be less relevant to the development of young adult AUD compared to adolescent substance use problems.

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