Do personality characteristics and risk taking mediate the relationship between paternal substance dependence and adolescent substance use?

Alcohol and stress exposure across the lifespan are key risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease and cognitive decline

Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD) are an increasing threat to global health initiatives. Efforts to prevent the development of ADRD require understanding behaviors that increase and decrease risk of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline, in addition to uncovering the underlying biological mechanisms behind these effects. Stress exposure and alcohol consumption have both been associated with increased risk for ADRD in human populations. However, our ability to understand causal mechanisms of ADRD requires substantial preclinical research. In this review, we summarize existing human and animal research investigating the connections between lifetime stress and alcohol exposures and ADRD.

The Association of Impulsivity and Family History of Alcohol Use Disorder on Alcohol Use and Consequences

BACKGROUND

Extensive research indicates that having a positive family history of alcohol use disorder (FHP) and impulsivity are 2 risk factors for problem drinking. To our knowledge, no study has investigated which facets of impulsivity interact with family history to increase risk for problem drinking. The goal of this study was to: (i) examine whether FHP individuals with higher levels of impulsivity are more likely to engage in problematic drinking, and (ii) identify which facets of impulsivity interact with FHP to increase risk for problems.

METHODS

The data consisted of a combined sample of 757 participants (50% female, 73% White, mean age = 32.85, SD = 11.31) drawn from the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center and the Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcohol. Analyses of covariance and cumulative logistic regression models investigated the association of family history and impulsivity-related traits with drinking quantity, frequency, and alcohol-related problems. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnic group, education level, and data source.

RESULTS

Significant interactions between impulsivity and family history were found for measures of alcohol-related problems. Specifically, there was a stronger positive association of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) poor self-regulation with interpersonal, F(1, 504) = 6.27, p = 0.01, and impulse control alcohol-related problems, F(1, 504) = 6.00, p = 0.01, among FHP compared to FHN individuals. Main effects of family history and impulsivity on alcohol quantity and frequency of use and problems were also found.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that having both a family history of AUD and high BIS poor self-regulation is more strongly associated with alcohol-related consequences in the interpersonal and impulse control domains. Given the heterogeneity of impulsivity, these findings highlight the need for additional research to examine which facets of impulsivity are associated with which alcohol outcomes to narrow phenotypic risk for alcohol misuse.

Method effects of the relation between family history of alcoholism and parent reports of offspring impulsive behavior

There is an extensive, albeit inconsistent, literature on the relation between parental alcoholism and offspring impulsive behavior. The reasons for this inconsistency are likely multiple but it seems probable that method effects due to different methodological approaches might explain some of the inconsistencies. Offspring behavior is typically assessed based on informant reports. However, no specific method has been demonstrated as optimal for analyzing informant reports, and conclusions may differ depending on the method used. The present study compared findings derived from a multi-informant method proposed by Bauer et al. (2013) to other structural equation models. Participants came from Wave 7 of the Alcohol, Health and Behavior study and included mother and father reports of offspring impulsive behavior on the Health and Behavior Questionnaire (Armstrong, Goldstein, & the MacArthur Working Group on Outcome Assessment, 2003). There were 368 offspring (50% female, age range 3-17 years, meanage = 6.78, SDage = 3.07) from 205 families. The multi-informant model and the single-reporter models each provided a good fit of the data; however, findings differed based on the approach employed. Specifically, the mother-only report model found that offspring with a family history of alcoholism (FHA) were more impulsive compared to offspring without a FHA; no effect of FHA was found in the other single-reporter models. Ratings of offspring impulsive behavior were higher on the father perspective factor suggesting alcoholic fathers were biased in their reports. These findings highlight the relation between FHA and impulsive behavior varies depending on the analytic method used.

The Availability of Substances in Adolescence: Influences in Emerging Adulthood

This study examines how the availability of substances in the home during adolescence and its influence on substance use in young adulthood. Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health). The final sample consisted of approximately 15,000 cases from waves 1, 3 and 4. Multivariate analyses indicate that the availability of substances in the home affects young adult substance use and substance use in later young adulthood. We also find that the availability of substances in the home during adolescence is associated with an earlier age at first substance use. This study offers further evidence for understanding how the home environment affects substance use behavior among young adults. In this case, exposure to substances in adolescence, and their easy availability increases the likelihood of substance use in adolescence, and increases use in young adulthood.

Is risk-taking propensity a familial vulnerability factor for alcohol use? An examination in two independent samples

Research indicates that increased risk-taking propensity (RTP) is associated with higher alcohol use. There is also some evidence to suggest that it is not just a state factor or 'scar,' but instead a vulnerability factor. If this is the case, increased RTP should be evident in healthy individuals that are at risk for alcohol use. To date, few studies have examined whether RTP is a familial vulnerability factor and thus, the aim of the current study was to test whether RTP aggregates within families and if increased RTP is evident in biological family members at risk for alcohol use. Sample 1 included 87 biological, adult sibling pairs and Sample 2 included 111 biological mother and adolescent dyads (total N = 396). All participants completed a behavioral measure of RTP and were assessed for alcohol use. Results in both samples were strikingly consistent. In Sample 1, RTP was correlated among siblings and greater frequency of proband alcohol use predicted greater sibling RTP, over and above sibling alcohol use. In Sample 2, RTP was correlated among mothers and their offspring and greater maternal alcohol use problems predicted greater adolescent RTP over and above adolescent substance use. Together, these findings suggest that RTP may be a familial vulnerability factor for alcohol use as it aggregates within families and is increased in relatives of individuals with higher levels of alcohol use.

Psychosocial correlates of alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among Italian adolescents: Data from the second International Self-Reported Delinquency study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

To provide a comprehensive picture of the wide spectrum of psychosocial factors potentially associated with alcohol consumption and problematic drinking among Italian adolescents in order to encourage debate on the context-specificity or universality of psychosocial correlates of adolescent alcohol use and misuse across countries and cultures.

METHODS

The International Self-Report Delinquency survey questionnaire was used to assess several variables concerning sociodemographic background, family relationships and problems, school performance and climate, life events, victimization experiences, neighborhood climate, personality traits, and attitudes, delinquent behavior, drug use, and peers behavior in a city-based sample of 6,363 seventh to ninth grade Italian students.

RESULTS

Generalized linear regression models showed that recent alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking were associated with multiple factors pertaining to different levels and domains reflecting the adolescent's personality and behavior as well as the different social and cultural contexts in which adolescents spend most of their time. Poor relations with parents, parental divorce, positive attitudes toward violence, and low self-control appeared to precede recent alcohol use and misuse and might be potential risk factors for alcohol use and/or misuse, while the association between problematic drinking and deviant attitudes (i.e., violent behavior, drug use, and affiliation with deviant peers) might be explained through reciprocal influences.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Some psychosocial correlates of adolescent alcohol use and misuse might be universal across countries and cultures. Additionally, certain family, school, personality, behavioral, and peer-related factors might be more important than other correlates of youth alcohol use.

A Long-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Effect of Early Onset of Alcohol and Drug Use on Later Alcohol Abuse

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.

Dimensions of parental alcohol use/problems and offspring temperament, externalizing behaviors, and alcohol use/problems

BACKGROUND

Alcohol consumption (AC) and alcohol problems (AP) are complex traits. How many factors reflecting parental AC and AP are present in the large prospectively followed Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort? Would these factors be uniquely associated with various temperamental and alcohol-related outcomes in the children?

METHODS

We factor-analyzed multiple items reflecting maternal and paternal AC and AP measured over a 12-year period from before the birth of the child (n = 14,093 families). We examined, by linear regression controlling for socioeconomic status, the relationship between scales derived from these factors and offspring early childhood temperament, externalizing traits, and adolescent AC and AP (ns ranging from 9,732 to 3,454).

RESULTS

We identified 5 coherent factors: typical maternal AC, maternal AC during pregnancy, maternal AP, paternal AC, and paternal AP. In univariate analyses, maternal and paternal AC and AP were modestly and significantly associated with low shyness, sociability, hyperactivity, and conduct problems in childhood and early adolescence; delinquent behavior at age 15; and AC and AP at ages 15 and 18. AC and AP at age 18 were more strongly predicted by parental factors than at age 15. Maternal AC during pregnancy uniquely predicted externalizing traits at ages 4, 13, and 15.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental AC and AP are complex multidimensional traits that differ in their association with a range of relevant measures in their children. Controlling for background AC and AP, self-reported levels of maternal AC during pregnancy uniquely predicted externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence.

Development and Vulnerability Factors in Adolescent Alcohol Use

This article provides an overview of the characteristics of adolescent alcohol use, normative and subgroup variations in drinking behavior, and the important factors associated with an increased risk for developing alcohol problems in later adolescence and young adulthood. Parental or family histories of alcoholism, temperament traits, conduct problems, cognitive functioning, alcohol expectancies, and peer and other social relations are identified as factors influencing an adolescent's susceptibility for initiating a variety of alcohol use behaviors. The deviance prone model, proposed by Sher in 1991, is presented as an important tool for testing possible relationships among the various risk factors and their sequencing that leads to early adolescent alcohol use and drug initiation. It is also possible to extend the model to allow for an examination of the complex interplay of risk factors that lead to the development of alcohol use problems in late adolescence and young adults.

Ethnicity and adolescent pathways to alcohol use

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the influence of ethnicity on factors affecting alcohol-use behaviors in a community sample of white, black, and Hispanic youth (N = 323). Conduct problems, positive alcohol expectancies, and socioeconomic status were expected to mediate the effect of negative affectivity and a paternal history of substance dependence on the age at onset of regular drinking and the frequency of drinking.

METHOD

Subjects ages 14-21 (57.9% female; 60.7% white) were interviewed along with their fathers at baseline (Time 1), and subjects only were interviewed again 5 years later (Time 2). A structural equation model was used to test a deviance proneness model for predicting drinking behaviors and to evaluate differences on model paths by ethnicity.

RESULTS

Ethnic group membership moderated mediational pathways linked to the onset of regular alcohol use but not to drinking frequency. An increase in the number of childhood conduct problems predicted an earlier age at onset of regular drinking for blacks, whereas more positive alcohol expectancies were associated with an earlier initiation of regular drinking for whites and Hispanics.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study provide evidence that risk factors for alcohol use in adolescents and young adults vary according to ethnic group.

The development of children's intentions to use alcohol: direct and indirect effects of parent alcohol use and parenting behaviors

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of parent alcohol use and parenting behavior on the development of children's intentions to use alcohol in Grades 1 through 8. The authors hypothesized that the effect of parent alcohol use on children's intention to use alcohol would be mediated through parenting behavior, specifically monitoring/supervision, positive parenting, and inconsistent discipline. Using cohort-sequential latent growth modeling (LGM), the authors tested 3 models examining the effect of the development of parent alcohol use on the development of children's intentions to use alcohol, as mediated by the development of each of the 3 parenting behaviors. Multiple group analyses were used to explore gender differences. The effect of growth in parent alcohol use on growth in children's intentions was mediated only by parent monitoring/supervision and was significant only for girls. The effect of inconsistent discipline was directly related to growth in intentions for both boys and girls. Although parent alcohol use was related to less positive parenting, positive parenting was unrelated to children's intentions to use alcohol.

Risk factors for distress in the adolescent children of HIV-positive and HIV-negative drug-abusing fathers

In contrast to previous research on parental drug abuse, the present study examined comorbid drug addiction and HIV infection in the father as related to his adolescent child's psychological distress. Individual structured interviews were administered to 505 HIV-positive and HIV-negative drug-abusing fathers and one of their children, aged 12-20. Structural equation modelling tested an hypothesized model linking paternal latent variables, ecological factors and adolescent substance use to adolescent distress. Results demonstrated a direct pathway between paternal distress and adolescent distress, as well as an indirect pathway; namely, paternal distress was linked with impaired paternal teaching of coping skills to the child, which in turn was related to adolescent substance use and, ultimately, to the adolescent's distress. There was also an association between paternal drug addiction/HIV and adolescent distress, which was mediated by both ecological factors and adolescent substance use. Findings suggest an increased risk of distress in the adolescent children of fathers with comorbid drug addiction and HIV/AIDS, which may be further complicated by paternal distress. Results suggest several opportunities for prevention and treatment programmes for the children of drug-abusing fathers.

A comparison of three vulnerability models for the onset of substance use in a high-risk sample

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this prospective study was to compare the following three vulnerability models for early-onset substance use in a high-risk sample: the deviance proneness model, the negative affect regulation model, and a comprehensive model including both delinquency and negative affect.

METHOD

The sample included 249 15- to 19-year-old adolescents (57% children of alcoholics) and their fathers, all of whom were seen at follow-up 5 years later. At both times of measurement, participants completed a clinical psychiatric interview and a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing temperament, negative affect, delinquency, and substance use.

RESULTS

Although all of the models fit the data well, the deviance proneness model was parsimonious and provided the best fit. Delinquency played a significant mediating role, whereas negative affect did not. Moreover, negative affect and delinquency were not significantly related to one another.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study suggest that the deviance proneness model may be a more useful theoretical framework than the negative affect regulation model or a comprehensive model when examining the onset of substance use, particularly in a high-risk sample.

Paternal alcoholism and youth substance abuse: the indirect effects of negative affect, conduct problems, and risk taking

This longitudinal study followed 200 adolescents into early adulthood to explore the potential mediating roles that hostility, sadness, conduct problems, and risk-taking play in the relationship between paternal alcoholism and substance abuse. Results indicated that paternal alcoholism predicted hostility; in turn, hostility predicted risk taking, which predicted substance abuse.

Impulsivity as a vulnerability marker for substance-use disorders: review of findings from high-risk research, problem gamblers and genetic association studies

There is a longstanding association between substance-use disorders (SUDs) and the psychological construct of impulsivity. In the first section of this review, personality and neurocognitive data pertaining to impulsivity will be summarised in regular users of four classes of substance: stimulants, opiates, alcohol and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Impulsivity in these groups may arise via two alternative mechanisms, which are not mutually exclusive. By one account, impulsivity may occur as a consequence of chronic exposure to substances causing harmful effects on the brain. By the alternative account, impulsivity pre-dates SUDs and is associated with the vulnerability to addiction. We will review the evidence that impulsivity is associated with addiction vulnerability by considering three lines of evidence: (i) studies of groups at high-risk for development of SUDs; (ii) studies of pathological gamblers, where the harmful consequences of the addiction on brain structure are minimised, and (iii) genetic association studies linking impulsivity to genetic risk factors for addiction. Within each of these three lines of enquiry, there is accumulating evidence that impulsivity is a pre-existing vulnerability marker for SUDs.