A Long-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Effect of Early Onset of Alcohol and Drug Use on Later Alcohol Abuse.
- Authors
- Ohannessian, Christine McCauley; Finan, Laura J; Schulz, Jessica; Hesselbrock, Victor
- Year
- 2015
- Journal
- Substance abuse
- PMID
- 25671782
- DOI
- 10.1080/08897077.2014.989353
- PMCID
- PMC4532648
BACKGROUND: Early onset of alcohol use has been linked to later alcohol problems in adulthood. Currently, it is not clear whether early onset of marijuana and tobacco use similarly predicts alcohol problems. Moreover, most studies examining the effect of early substance use onset on later problems only have followed youth into their early 20s. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to examine whether early onset of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use predicts alcohol problems beyond the transition to adulthood. METHODS: The sample included 225 15-19-year-old youth (60% girls; 62% Caucasian) who were surveyed in three time periods: 1993-1998 (Time 1), 1998-2003 (Time 2), and 2003-2007 (Time 3). Participants reported their age of onset for regular drinking, tobacco use, and marijuana use. At each time of measurement, they also completed surveys relating to their alcohol use and abuse. RESULTS: Participants with an earlier age of onset of drinking regularly scored higher on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and drank more frequently to get high and drunk throughout their 20s. Tobacco use onset and marijuana use onset were not associated with later alcohol use or abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that the relationship between the onset of substance use and later substance abuse may be substance specific. Of note, early onset of regular drinking was associated with alcohol problems during adulthood, underscoring the importance of delaying the onset of regular alcohol use among youth.
Drinking behaviors across time by regular drinking onset
LLM interpretation
This grouped bar chart displays drinking behavior scores across three time points (Time 1, 2, and 3) for three groups based on drinking onset: Early, Middle, and Late. For both "drinking to get high" and "drinking to get drunk," the Early and Middle onset groups generally show higher behavior scores than the Late onset group. Statistical significance is indicated by asterisks (*, **, ***) above the bars, highlighting differences between the groups at each time point and condition.
MAST score across time by regular drinking onset
LLM interpretation
This grouped bar chart displays MAST scores across three time points (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3) for three groups based on drinking onset: Early, Middle, and Late. In all time points, the Early group exhibits the highest MAST scores, followed by the Middle and then the Late group. A statistical significance marker (asterisk) is present above the Middle group bar at Time 1.
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| adolescents | cohort |
| Adolescents 15-19 years local | cohort |
| age at initiation | phenotype |
| age of onset of marijuana use local | phenotype |
| age of onset of tobacco use local | phenotype |
| alcohol | phenotype |
| alcohol abuse | phenotype |
| alcohol dependence | phenotype |
| Alcohol Problems | phenotype |
| alcohol-related problems | phenotype |
| Alcohol Use | phenotype |
| alcohol use disorders | phenotype |
| clinical samples | cohort |
| Clinical substance abuse local | phenotype |
| Clinical symptoms of alcoholism local | phenotype |
| Common liability | phenotype |
| community | cohort |
| Delayed onset of regular alcohol use local | cohort |
| dependence | phenotype |
| dependence total score local | phenotype |
| Drinking to get drunk local | phenotype |
| Drinking to get high local | phenotype |
| drug | drug |
| drug dependence | phenotype |
| drugs | drug |
| Early 20s local | cohort |
| early adulthood | cohort |
| early alcohol use | phenotype |
| Early drinking age of onset local | phenotype |
| Early onset of alcohol use local | cohort |
| Early onset of regular drinking local | phenotype |
| early substance use | phenotype |
| Endocrine disorder local | phenotype |
| Ethanol Dependence Syndrome Scale local | phenotype |
| fathers | cohort |
| frequency of drinking to get drunk local | phenotype |
| frequency of drinking to get high local | phenotype |
| Frequency to get drunk local | phenotype |
| Frequency to get high local | phenotype |
| future use local | phenotype |
| Genetic predisposition for substance abuse local | phenotype |
| heavy drinking | phenotype |
| high-risk sample | cohort |
| Homicide | phenotype |
| Late 20s local | cohort |
| later alcohol use local | phenotype |
| Later alcohol use problems local | phenotype |
| Later onset of regular drinking local | phenotype |
| later substance abuse local | phenotype |
| major depressive disorder | phenotype |
| marijuana | phenotype |
| marijuana abuse | phenotype |
| MAST score local | phenotype |
| MAST scores local | phenotype |
| Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test local | phenotype |
| neurological disorders | phenotype |
| offspring | cohort |
| offspring of alcohol and drug-dependent fathers local | cohort |
| Offspring of alcoholic parents local | cohort |
| onset of drinking | phenotype |
| Onset of drug use local | phenotype |
| other drugs | drug |
| peer substance use | phenotype |
| peer support for substance use local | phenotype |
| peer use | phenotype |
| problematic alcohol and marijuana use local | phenotype |
| psychotropic medication | drug |
| racial/ethnic differences local | phenotype |
| regular alcohol use | phenotype |
| regular drinking onset local | phenotype |
| RISK project local | cohort |
| schizophrenia | phenotype |
| sex differences | phenotype |
| Significant head injuries local | phenotype |
| substance abuse | phenotype |
| substance use | phenotype |
| suicide | phenotype |
| tobacco use | phenotype |
| Unintentional injury local | phenotype |
| young adults | cohort |
| Youth participants local | cohort |
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