Adolescent Substance Abuse: A Review of the Past 10 Years

AimsTo investigate pathways to ecstasy use disorders from pre-birth to early adulthood with particular attention to the relationship between early depressive and anxiety symptoms and later ecstasy use disorders. DesignProspective, longitudinal, population-based study started in Brisbane, South East Queensland (Australia) in 1981. Participants were 2143 young adults, followed up from pre-birth to young adulthood. MeasurementsEcstasy use disorders were assessed with the composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI-Auto). Maternal socio-economic position and mental health status were assessed at baseline (antenatal visit); maternal substance use was measured at the 5-year follow-up, adolescents' behaviour at the 5-and 14-year follow-up and tobacco and alcohol use were assessed at the 14-year follow-up. FindingsEight syndrome scales of childhood behaviour were examined. After adjustment for important confounders, delinquent and aggressive behaviour in early adolescence remained significantly associated with ecstasy use disorders in early adulthood. The associations became statistically non-significant when adolescent tobacco and alcohol use were included in the model [OR = 1.50 (95%CI = 0.75, 3.01) for delinquency and OR = 1.69 (95%CI = 0.92, 3.12) for aggression]. Formal mediation tests were statistically significant (p = 0.001 for delinquent behaviour and p = 0.05 for aggressive behaviour). ConclusionsOur findings suggest a pathway from early deviant behaviour to ecstasy use disorders, possibly mediated through licit drug experimentation in early adolescence.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Pathways to ecstasy use in young adults: Anxiety, depression or behavioural deviance?

Alati¹,

Kinner²,

Hayatbakhsh³

et al. 2008

“…Our rates of co-occurring ADHD, disruptive and anxiety disorders were similar to other studies of prepubertal and adolescent BPD , Geller, et al, 2000, 2004, Kowatch, et al, 2005, Wozniak, et al, 1995. An important finding in the current study was that the higher risk of cigarette smoking and SUD in BPD youth was independent of other psychiatric comorbidity (ADHD, CD, multiple anxiety); disorders that have been associated independently with SUD (Weinberg, et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Further evidence of an association between adolescent bipolar disorder with smoking and substance use disorders: A controlled study

Wilens

Biederman

Adamson

et al. 2008

“…The current results support research linking CD symptoms to early-onset alcohol use problems (Weinberg et al, 1998). Specifically, boys who exhibited higher levels of CD symptoms at the initial assessment were more likely to have initiated alcohol use and experienced problems as the result of alcohol use in the past.…”

Section: Symptoms and Alcohol Use Disorderssupporting

confidence: 80%

“…There is a substantial amount of evidence indicating that symptoms of CD and substance use disorders tend to co-occur across adolescence (Weinberg et al, 1998). In fact, early substance use is often included as an additional indicator of conduct problems in childhood and adolescence rather than treating the two as separate, yet related, problems .…”

Section: Symptoms and Alcohol Use Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Longitudinal research indicates that behaviors consistent with conduct disorder (CD) symptoms (e.g., aggression, deceitfulness/theft, destruction of property, serious rule violations) are associated with more frequent and intense alcohol use across time (Henry et al, 1993;Miller-Johnson et al, 1998;White et al, 1999), as well as early-onset substance use disorders (for a review see Weinberg et al, 1998). Given the robustness of this relation, some investigators have postulated that early CD symptoms represent the phenotypic expression of a genetically inherited liability for substance use disorders (Tarter et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Early adolescent psychopathology as a predictor of alcohol use disorders by young adulthood

Pardini

White

Stouthamer‐Loeber

2007

148

147

Few prospective studies have examined the relation between early adolescent conduct disorder symptoms and the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD) by young adulthood. The relative contribution of other forms of adolescent psychopathology (i.e., attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety/withdrawal) to the development of AUD also remains poorly understood. There is some suggestion that the co-occurrence of conduct disorder symptoms with other forms of psychopathology may interact synergistically in predicting later alcohol use problems. The current study explores these issues using data on 506 boys from the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Consistent with prior research, early conduct disorder symptoms emerged as a consistent predictor of increased AUD symptoms and an alcohol dependence diagnosis by young adulthood. In contrast, adolescent boys with high levels of anxiety/withdrawal had lower levels of AUD symptoms and were less likely to develop alcohol dependence by young adulthood. Increased depression in early adolescence was associated with higher AUD symptoms and alcohol abuse and dependence diagnoses by young adulthood, but only for boys with high levels of conduct disorder symptoms. No evidence was found for a relation between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and AUD symptoms or diagnoses after controlling for co-occurring psychopathology.