Age sensitive associations of adolescent substance use with amygdalar, ventral striatum, and frontal volumes 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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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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Adolescent substance use and specificity of association with educational attainment in young adulthood

Drug and Alcohol Dependence ◽

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.07.551 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 156 ◽

pp. e205

Author(s):

Edmund Silins ◽

L.J. Horwood ◽

D. Fergusson ◽

G. Patton ◽

C. Olsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Adolescent Substance Use ◽

Adolescent Substance

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Adolescent substance use and functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and hippocampus

10.1101/847749 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Edward D. Huntley ◽

Hilary A. Marusak ◽

Sarah E. Berman ◽

Clara G. Zundel ◽

Joshua R.B. Hatfield ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Ventral Striatum ◽

Imaging Study ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Adolescent Substance Use ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Adolescent Substance

AbstractNeurodevelopmental explanations for adolescent substance use have focused on heightened sensitivity of the brain’s reward system, centered around the ventral striatum (VS). Recent evidence demonstrates increased functional connectivity between the VS and hippocampus in adolescents relative to adults, suggesting that the adolescent brain may learn from subsequent exposure to risks/rewards. However, a link between VS-hippocampal circuitry and adolescent substance use has yet to be established. Two separate longitudinal studies were conducted to evaluate whether variation in VS-hippocampal resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) predicts subsequent adolescent substance use. Study 1 consisted of 19 youth recruited from a high sociodemographic risk population (N = 19; 14 female; 47% Black Non-Hispanic, 32% White Non-Hispanic). To replicate results of Study 1, Study 2 utilized data from the National Consortium on Adolescent Neurodevelopment and Alcohol, an ongoing multi-site imaging study (N= 644; 339 female; 11% Black Non-Hispanic, 11% Hispanic/Latino, 66% White Non-Hispanic). Resting-state fMRI data were collected at a baseline time point and lifetime and past year self-reported substance use was collected at a follow up visit. Regression models tested whether baseline VS-hippocampal rs-FC predicted substance use at follow up. Across both studies, higher VS-hippocampal rs-FC at baseline predicted greater substance use at follow up. These data provide the first evidence linking increased VS-hippocampal connectivity with greater adolescent substance use. Results fit with the emerging idea that adolescent substance use is driven by not only a heightened sensitivity to reward, but also a stronger link between reinforcement learning and episodic memory for rewarding outcomes.

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