Adolescent risk and protective factors predicting triple trajectories of substance use from adolescence into adulthood

Alcohol Use and Abstinence throughout Adolescence: The Changing Contributions of Perceived Risk of Drinking, Opportunities to Drink, and Self-Control

Objective: Adolescence is characterized by psychosocial and cognitive changes that can alter the perceived risk of negative effects of alcohol, opportunities to drink, and self-control. Few studies have investigated whether these factors change in their contribution to adolescent drinking over time. This study examined associations between perceived risk, opportunities to drink, self-control, and past-year drinking and investigated whether self-control buffers the effect of lower perceived risk and frequent drinking opportunities on the probability of past-year drinking. Method: Data from a four-wave longitudinal study (2015-2020) of 2,104 North Carolina adolescents (Mage = 12.36, SDage = 1.12, at Time 1) were used to assess changes in associations between self-control, perceived risk of drinking, and drinking opportunities on the frequency of past-year drinking. Hypotheses were tested using latent trajectory models. Results: At all timepoints, greater perceived risk, fewer drinking opportunities, and higher self-control were associated with drinking abstinence in the past year. Self-control buffered the impact of frequent drinking opportunities and lower perceived risk on the probability of alcohol use at Times 1-3. Conclusions: Despite expectations that adolescents' ability to navigate their environments improves as they age, associations between risk, protective factors, and past-year drinking were relatively stable over time. Nevertheless, self-control protected against frequent drinking opportunities and lower perceived risk. Strategies that support or relieve the need for self-control (e.g., situation modification) may protect against alcohol use throughout adolescence.

Effects of Social Attachment on Experimental Drug Use From Childhood to Adolescence: An 11-Year Prospective Cohort Study

Background

Drug use among adolescents are still crucial issues that endanger their lifetime health. Evidence concerning the interpersonal-related factors influencing youngsters' experimental drug use behavior, especially from longitudinal and school-based prospective cohort studies, is insufficient. We aimed to describe the annual incidence rate and mean annual incidence rate of experimental drug use from childhood to adolescence by education stage, clarify the risk in childhood and examine the longitudinal relationship between social attachment factors and experimental drug use.

Materials and Methods

The data were derived from the 1st to 11th wave of the longitudinal study. In total, 1,106 respondents aged 19–20-year-old were followed up for 11 years (from 9 to 10-year-old) in Taiwan. A survival analysis was used to analyze the time-invarying/time-dependent effects of social attachment factors on experimental drug use.

Results

The mean annual incidence rate of experimental drug use from childhood to adolescence was 6.8‰. The incidence increased over time and was the highest in the first year of university (19.3‰). Boys were more likely to use drugs than girls. A low degree of self-perceived likeability in childhood was a risk factor influencing experimental drug use. On average, a low degree of parental supervision and a high degree of family conflict were both influential risk factors. According to the time-dependent models, a high degree of parental supervision, a high degree of family support and a low degree of family conflict in the current year can protect children and adolescents from drug use, whereas a sustained low degree of parental supervision and a high degree of family conflict may promote students' experimental drug use.

Conclusion

Parents should be informed and educated to avoid family conflict during childhood, maintain consistent supervision of their children's behavior, provide adequate family support, and pay attention to their children's interpersonal relationships in school. Teachers should focus on the social attachment status of their students while considering their attachments to their families and peers.

Protective Factors for Decreasing Nicotine, Alcohol, and Cannabis Use Among Adolescents with a History of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Adolescents who have experienced adversity have an increased likelihood of using substances. This study examined if individual-, family-, school-, and community-level protective factors were associated with a decreased likelihood of substance use. Data from the Well-Being and Experiences Study (the WE Study) collected from 2017 to 2018 were used. The sample was adolescents aged 14 to 17 years (N = 1002) from Manitoba, Canada. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. The prevalence of past 30-day substance use was 20.5% among boys and 29.2% among girls. Substance use was greater among adolescent girls compared to boys. Protective factors associated with an increased likelihood of not using substances included knowing culture or language, being excited for the future, picturing the future, sleeping 8 to 10 h per night (unadjusted models only), participating in non-sport activity organized by the school, having a trusted adult in the family, frequent hugs from parent, parent saying “I love you” (unadjusted models only), eating dinner together every day, mother and father understanding adolescent’s worries and problems, being able to confide in mother and father, feeling close to other students at school, having a trusted adult at school, feeling a part of school, having a trusted adult in the community (unadjusted models only), volunteering once a week or more, and feeling motivated to help and improve one’s community. Knowledge of protective factors related to decreased odds of substance use may help inform strategies for preventing substance use and ways to foster resilience among adolescents.