response at each time point. All models were run separately by sex as the development of depressive symptoms through adolescence has previously been shown to differ between males and females [23, 24]. Formal statistical tests were used, where appropriate, to assess gender differences. Following the estimation of these growth models, the association between the growth factors characterizing the change in depressive symptoms and the later alcohol outcomes was then estimated. Figure 1 illustrates the inclusion of a distal latent trait alcohol outcome. Potential confounders (described above) for this relationship were then introduced. All analyses were carried out using Mplus [25] version 7.0 using the MLR estimator.
