Development of individuals' own and perceptions of peers' substance use from early adolescence to adulthood

Mental health consequences of parental death and its prevalence in children: A systematic literature review

The death of a loved one can occur at any stage of life and can have a profound clinical impact on the patient. During childhood and adolescence, smoking has a functional impact on key aspects of family, school, and social life. The negative effects of parental death on children's mental health and its prevalence are unknown. Therefore, this systematic literature review aimed to describe the effects of parental death on children's mental health and its prevalence. The PubMed/Medline, WoS, and Cochrane Trials databases were searched for articles on patients aged 4-18 years. This review examines three articles. Anxiety and depression were identified as the predominant mental health outcomes, with a prevalence ranging from 7.5 % to 44.67 % of the mental health consequences associated with parental death.

Declines in Adolescent Substance Use After the COVID-19 Pandemic Onset: The Role of Initiation in Grades 7 and 9

PURPOSE

To examine if the record declines in adolescent substance use after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted from reduced levels of initiation, defined as any lifetime use.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the nationally representative, cross-sectional, annual Monitoring the Future surveys of eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students from 2019 to 2022. Measures included past 12-month use of cannabis, nicotine vaping, and alcohol as well as self-reported grade of initiation of each substance. Analyses are based on randomly selected subsamples of students who received questions on both prevalence and grade of first use, resulting in a total sample size of 96,990 students.

RESULTS

Levels of the past 12-month substance use were markedly lower after the onset of the pandemic, in 2021 and 2022. In eighth and 10th grade, levels were at least one-third lower for cannabis and nicotine vaping and 13%-31% lower for alcohol. In 12th grade, the decreases ranged from 9% to 23%. Lower levels of initiation in seventh grade in 2020-2021 accounted for half or more of the overall prevalence decreases in eighth grade in 2021- 2022. Lower levels of initiation in ninth grade in 2020-2021 accounted for 45% or more of the overall prevalence decreases in 10th grade in 2021-2022. Declines in 12th grade substance use prevalence were not consistently linked to lower initiation in earlier grades.

DISCUSSION

Much of the declines in overall prevalence of adolescent substance use after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic trace back specifically to declines in substance use initiation in seventh and ninth grades.

Predictors of problematic adult alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use: A longitudinal study of two samples

This study examined whether a key set of adolescent and early adulthood risk factors predicts problematic alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use in established adulthood. Two independent samples from the Child Development Project (CDP; n = 585; 48% girls; 81% White, 17% Black, 2% other race/ethnicity) and Fast Track (FT; n = 463; 45% girls; 52% White, 43% Black, 5% other race/ethnicity) were recruited in childhood and followed through age 34 (CDP) or 32 (FT). Predictors of substance use were assessed in adolescence based on adolescent and parent reports and in early adulthood based on adult self-reports. Adults reported their own problematic substance use in established adulthood. In both samples, more risk factors from adolescence and early adulthood predicted problematic alcohol use in established adulthood (compared to problematic cannabis use and other substance use). Externalizing behaviors and prior substance use in early adulthood were consistent predictors of problematic alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood across samples; other predictors were specific to the sample and type of substance misuse. Prevention efforts might benefit from tailoring to address risk factors for specific substances, but prioritizing prevention of externalizing behaviors holds promise for preventing both alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood.