Data in the current analyses were cross-sectional, as is much of the current knowledge about internalizing traits and substance problems. However, data collected in the ongoing Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism prospective study, which include SSAGA and, consequently, the Internalizing Scale, will permit longitudinal investigations of multivariable associations between internalizing trans-diagnostic characteristics, problematic substance use, and the temporal relationship between them. It is hoped that the examination of genetic and neurophysiological underpinnings of internalizing characteristics will also be well served by this scale.
