reported having tried cannabis prior to age 14 met DSM-5 criteria for CUD as compared to only 2.6% of those who tried cannabis after age 18 (SAMHSA, 2013). The peak risk of developing a nicotine use disorder (NUD) is associated with an onset of regular nicotine use at the young age of 10, and females demonstrate a particularly strong relationship between adolescent age of onset and higher rates of nicotine dependence (Lanza and Vasilenko, 2015). Together, these findings support the hypothesis that adolescence is a vulnerable developmental period of high risk for development of a SUD following early substance use exposure. Therefore, the ABCD Study will assess DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of SUD (see the ABCD Mental Health article in this special issue), as well as symptom counts of AUD, CUD, NUD, and combined other illicit drug use disorder.
