Concurrent and prospective effects of multi-dimensional aggression and anger on adolescent alcohol use

The Effects of Anger on Alcohol Demand and Subjective Alcohol Craving

BACKGROUND

Anger and anger-related traits have been related to alcohol use in both cross-sectional and prospective studies. However, only a small number of studies have experimentally manipulated anger to examine whether the manipulation of anger influences alcohol craving or the relative reinforcing value of alcohol.

METHODS

Participants (N = 231) recruited through Amazon's MTurk were randomly assigned to a provocation condition or a neutral condition prior to completing both the Alcohol Purchase Task and a self-report measure of alcohol craving. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of the anger induction, trait hostility, frequency of alcohol use in the past month, and relevant demographic characteristics (gender, age, income) on alcohol craving and indices of alcohol demand.

RESULTS

Participants assigned to the provocation condition had greater P_Max (B = 0.17, p = 0.012) and breakpoint (B = 0.18, p = 0.006) values, less elastic demand (B = -0.15, p = 0.020), and lower drinking intensity (B = -0.14, p = 0.025) than participants assigned to the neutral condition. Trait hostility was positively related to O_Max (B = 0.22, p = 0.001), intensity of demand (B = 0.27, p < 0.001), and subjective alcohol craving posttask (B = 0.32, p < 0.001), but did not moderate the relationship between condition and outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although most persistence indices of alcohol demand were sensitive to the anger induction, we did not observe higher scores on amplitude indices or subjective craving in the provocation condition relative to the neutral condition. Further investigation into the role which anger plays in alcohol use is warranted.

Is Adolescent Alcohol Use Linked to Spikes in Aggressive Behaviour? A Growth Curve Analysis

A relationship between alcohol use and aggression is well-established; however, less is known about how these factors develop and influence each other over time. This study examined the immediate and delayed effects of alcohol use on aggression during adolescence. Alcohol use and aggression were measured in a subset of students (n = 1560) from the Climate and Preventure study, Australia. Participants completed self-report surveys across five assessments (ages 13, 13.5, 14, 15 and 16). In a two-stage analysis, parallel and auto-regressive latent growth curve models were applied to investigate person-specific trajectories (or between-person effects) of alcohol use and aggression and identify the time-varying impact (or within-person effects) of alcohol use on aggression. Average alcohol consumption increased between ages 13 and 16, while average aggression levels decreased over time. Overall growth in alcohol use was positively related to heightened aggression at age 16, and vice versa. Spikes (time-varying increases) in alcohol use were linked to corresponding increases in aggression at each time point. There was evidence of a prospective effect where aggression was associated with hazardous alcohol use a year later, but no evidence that alcohol use was associated with subsequent aggression. Change in hazardous alcohol consumption and aggression beginning early in adolescence are interrelated and are predictive of one another at age 16. The time-varying effects of alcohol on aggression appear to be immediate rather than delayed; however, there is evidence for a prospective relationship where aggression influences later alcohol use. Implications for the timing and nature of novel harm reduction intervention approaches for young people are discussed.

The moderating effects of perceived emotional benefits on inhalant initiation among American Indian and white youth

BACKGROUND

Inhalant use co-occurs with emotional distress. Inhalant use may be a means of self-medicating distress, but more recent study focuses on the cognitive appraisal of personal benefits of using substances.

OBJECTIVES

Objectives were to determine whether emotional distress variables predict early versus later initiation of inhalant use, whether such relationships differ between American Indian and white youth, and whether perceived emotional benefits of inhalant use moderates the relationship between emotional distress and stage of inhalant initiation.

METHODS

Data were from a study of 7-12th grade American Indian youth who live on or near reservations. A total of 856 students from 32 schools surveyed from 2009 to 2012, who reported having used inhalants (American Indian = 683; white = 173), were surveyed about age first use of inhalants, levels of emotional distress, and perceived benefits of inhalant use. SEM models were used to assess study objectives.

RESULTS

Depression and anger did not discriminate between early and later initiation. Lower self-esteem related to earlier initiation, but only among American Indian students. Perceived emotional benefits of inhalant use did not moderate the relationship between self-esteem and stage of initiation.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Among middle school and high school American Indian and white youth living on or near American Indian reservations, emotional distress is not strongly related to stage of inhalant initiation.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

These findings raise questions about the timing and strength of relationship between emotional distress and early inhalant initiation. Prospective studies are need to assess this relationship more fully.

Developmental pathways linking externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and academic competence to adolescent substance use

This study extends previous research investigating the developmental pathways predicting adolescent alcohol and marijuana use by examining the cascading effects of externalizing and internalizing symptoms and academic competence in the prediction of use and level of use of these substances in adolescence. Participants (N=191) were drawn from a longitudinal study of first-born children of low-income mothers. Using data from ages 7, 9, 12, and 16 years, a series of nested two-part (semi-continuous) path models from a developmental cascade modeling framework were compared. Controlling for gender, SES, mother's age at child's birth, and minority status, we found (a) within-domain rank-order stability across time, (b) significant cross-domain effects over time, (c) higher externalizing symptoms significantly predicted use of alcohol and marijuana as well as higher levels of use in adolescence, and (d) higher levels of academic competence significantly added to the prediction of use of alcohol.