The Effect of Pubertal and Psychosocial Timing on Adolescents’ Alcohol Use: What Role Does Alcohol-Specific Parenting Play?

In scientific literature, early pubertal timing emerges as a risk factor of adolescents’ drinking, whereas alcohol-specific rules (the degree to which parents permit their children to consume alcohol in various situations) showed to protect against adolescents’ drinking. This study investigated whether alcohol-specific rules mediate and/or moderate the effect that early pubertal and psychosocial timing (personal, relational, socio-institutional) has on adolescents’ alcohol use. Mediation and moderation models were tested conducting ordinal logistic structural equation modeling in a cross-sectional sample of 1,893 Dutch adolescents (49% males), aged 13–15 years. Findings showed that early pubertal, relational and socio-institutional timers were at greater risk to initiate alcohol use and for heavy episodic drinking. Alcohol-specific rules more often mediated, rather than moderated, the effect of early timing on alcohol use. Alcohol-specific rules are mostly relaxed when adolescents mature, rather than reinforced, indicating that parents partly facilitate adolescents’ drinking.     

Negotiating the Early Developing Body: Pubertal Timing,Body Weight,and Adolescent Girls’ Substance Use

Despite knowledge that early pubertal timing predicts adolescent girls’ substance use, it is still unclear whether this relationship persists beyond early adolescence and whether it is conditional on girls’ body weight. This study examined the moderating role of body weight in the association between early pubertal timing and adolescent girls’ substance use using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The analytic sample included 5,591 adolescent girls attending middle-schools and high-schools in the United States (ages 10–15, 71% White, 14% Black). Results indicated that early pubertal timing was associated with substance use risk but effects were attenuated after controlling for prior use. Body weight moderated the association between early pubertal timing and girls’ reported number of substances tried in middle adolescence. Body weight magnified the risk of having tried one substance, but buffered the risk of having tried three substances. Among those girls who did use substances, body weight did not moderate the relationship between early pubertal timing and heavy substance use. It is concluded that the substance use risk associated with early pubertal timing is most salient during the developmental period in adolescence when sensitivity to bodily changes may be heightened.     

Protective Predictors of Alcohol Use Trajectories Among Canadian Aboriginal Youth

Some Aboriginal youth are at disproportionate risk of using substances and developing abuse and dependence disorders. However, not all Aboriginal youth misuse substances and limited research has examined the protective factors conferring against substance use among these youth. The present study aimed to identify protective factors related to the alcohol use trajectories from early adolescence to emerging adulthood among off-reserve Canadian Aboriginal youth. Participants (N = 330; 50.3% male) aged 12–23 were selected from cycles 2–7 of Statistics Canada’s NLSCY. Multilevel modeling was employed to identify protective factors for two constructs of alcohol use. Participation in weekly activities and optimism were found to be protective for both the frequency of alcohol use and heavy drinking trajectories. Attendance of religious services was also found to be protective for heavy drinking behaviors. In contrast, positive peer relationships were a risk factor for frequency of alcohol use, but not heavy drinking. The results provide preliminary evidence of important developmental factors to integrate into substance use intervention programs targeting Aboriginal youth.     

Pubertal Timing and Substance Use in Middle Adolescence: A 2-Year Follow-up Study

Earlier research has associated early puberty with emotional and behavioral symptoms particularly among girls, while among boys, findings have been contradictory as to whether risks are associated with early or late pubertal timing. We studied the association between pubertal timing and substance use behaviors in middle adolescence in a 2-year follow up study of 2,070 (mean age 15.5 years, SD 0.36; 56.4% females) Finnish adolescents. Pubertal timing was measured by age at menarche/oigarche. Eleven years or less was classified as early, 12–13 years as normative and 14 years or later as late pubertal timing. Substance use behaviors were elicited by a number of questions related to alcohol use patterns, smoking and cannabis use. As factors that could explain the association between pubertal timing and substance use, we studied depressive symptoms, delinquency and aggression, and parental monitoring. In boys, all these substance use behaviors were the more common the earlier the puberty and the associations persisted at age 17. Among girls, early pubertal timing was similarly associated with substance use behaviors at age 15, but no longer at age 17. The associations between pubertal timing and substance use behaviors persisted when symptom dimensions and parental monitoring were added into the models. Early puberty is a risk factor for substance use particularly among boys. Among girls, the impact of pubertal timing already tempers off during adolescence.     

Effects of Deviant Peer Association on Adolescent Alcohol Consumption: A Growth Mixture Modeling Analysis

This study examined concurrent and lagged effects of deviant peer association on levels of alcohol use for distinctive trajectories of drinking from ages 14–18 years, while controlling for age, paternal education, community size, and conduct problems. Longitudinal data were available from a secondary data archive of male and female German adolescents (N = 1,619). Conditional latent growth mixture modeling analysis indicated consistent concurrent effects of deviant peer association (specified as time-varying covariate) on alcohol use for the regular users group, but not any of the other drinking trajectory groups. Very few lagged effects of deviant peers association on alcohol use were found, and thus the social influence hypothesis received little empirical support. Overall, findings suggest the need to consider heterogeneity in the study of peer characteristics and alcohol use for both male and female adolescents.

Sexual Attraction and Trajectories of Mental Health and Substance Use During the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

Previous research suggests that sexual minority youth have poorer health-related outcomes than their heterosexual peers. The purpose of this study is to determine whether sexual orientation disparities in mental health and substance use increase, decrease, or remain the same during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Data are from Waves 1–4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 8,322; 55% female). Respondents were in grades 7–12 at Wave 1 and aged 24–32 at Wave 4. Latent growth curve modeling is used to compare the mental health and substance use trajectories of youth who consistently report heterosexual attraction versus those who consistently report lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) attraction, those who report a transition to LGB attraction, and those who report a transition to heterosexual attraction. Among women and men, sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts persist, but do not increase, during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The same pattern is observed for disparities in smoking, heavy drinking, and marijuana use among women. Among men, disparities in substance use are only observed between those who report consistent heterosexual attraction and those who transition to heterosexual attraction. Disparities between these groups persist over time for heavy drinking and marijuana use but decrease over time for smoking. While this study finds evidence of numerous disparities in mental health and substance use outcomes during adolescence and young adulthood, particularly among young women, there is no indication that these disparities get larger over time.     

Childhood Predictors and Mid-Adolescent Correlates of Developmental Trajectories of Alcohol Use among Male and Female Youth

The identification of salient risk factors for alcohol consumption among male and female adolescents is an important topic not only for etiology research but also for designing effective gender-specific alcohol prevention programs for young people. This study examined the extent to which problematic alcohol use trajectories from ages 14 to 18 among male and female youth were related to childhood predictors assessed at age 9 (i.e., impulsivity, academic self-confidence, social problems with peers), socio-demographic variables, and mid-adolescent correlates [i.e., parental use, body mass index (BMI), risky peer context, conduct problems at school, parent–child relationship, somatic complaints]. Data analysis was based on a representative German longitudinal study (1986–1995, n = 1,619, 55 % female). Using growth mixture modeling methodology, associations of childhood predictors and mid-adolescent correlates to distinctive trajectories of alcohol use were examined for males and females separately. For males, a problematic consumption trajectory was associated with poor relationships to parents in adolescence and small community size. For females, low impulsivity during childhood, high BMI, and contact with deviant peers during adolescence predicted problematic as compared to normative alcohol use trajectories. Additionally, high parental alcohol use, low parental educational background, and conduct problems at school during adolescence were common predictors of a problematic alcohol use trajectory in both genders. The results provide insights regarding differences in the gender-typical development of adolescent alcohol use as well as stress the need of gender-specific intervention components along with universal prevention strategies against problematic consumption trajectories.     

Predictors of Positive Development in Emerging Adulthood

This article responds to recent calls for a focus on successful development in young people and examination of its developmental precursors, in order to identify potentially modifiable targets for interventions. The current study examined child and adolescent precursors of positive functioning in emerging adulthood, including individual characteristics, relationship factors, and connections to the community, using a multidimensional positive development measure at 19–20 years. The sample consisted of 511 males and 647 females who were participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a population based longitudinal study that has followed young people’s psychosocial adjustment from infancy to early adulthood. Higher levels of positive development in emerging adulthood were associated with stronger family and peer relationships, better adjustment to the school setting, higher family socioeconomic status, and better emotional control. Some significant gender differences were observed, with emotional control, family relationships, and community orientation all being stronger predictors of males’ than of females’ positive development. The findings provide possible targets for child and adolescent interventions to promote positive development in early adulthood.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Associations Between Boys’ Pubertal Timing and Adult Behavioral Health and Well-Being

To extend research linking pubertal timing and adolescent health outcomes, this study examines boys’ pubertal timing and subsequent interpersonal success and health behaviors in mid adulthood. Past research has shown that boys’ pubertal timing is associated with both positive and negative developmental outcomes in the short term, and so it is unclear how pubertal timing is consequential for adjustment across the long term. Data from 460 boys from the Terman Life-Cycle Study were examined over a 39-year period to relate age of pubertal onset to later marital success, career success, and adult health behaviors. Boys who reached puberty earlier than their peers achieved greater success in their careers and experienced more satisfaction in their marriages. Early-developing boys were not found to be more likely than their peers to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol as adults. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of pubertal timing for life-span development.Keiko Taga is a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology at University of California, Riverside. Her major research interests are social and psychological predictors of health and longevityCharlotte Markey is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside in 2002. Her research focuses on social and personality influences on healthHoward S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, where he directs a large project on health and longevity across the life-span. He has authored or edited ten books, with a focus on health psychology, personality, and nonverbal charisma     

Proximal and Distal Effects of Sensation Seeking and Parenting Environments on Alcohol Use Trajectories from Early Adolescence to Early Adulthood

Adolescent alcohol use is related to disinhibition traits and family environments. However, research is scarce on whether these factors predict alcohol use trajectories distally, from early adolescence into early adulthood. We examined whether sensation seeking and parenting environments in early adolescence predicted adolescents’ alcohol use trajectories proximally (middle-adolescence) and distally (early adulthood). Using four waves of data from 345 adolescents (51.3% female; 80% white) and their primary caregivers, we estimated adolescents’ alcohol use trajectories and examined variability in these by sensation seeking and parental control. The findings revealed distal, positive associations between sensation seeking and alcohol use; and negative, proximal associations between parental control and alcohol use. Also proximally, there was a significant interaction between sensation seeking and parental control. We discuss implications for theory and practice.     

Early Pubertal Timing and Girls’ Problem Behavior: Integrating Two Hypotheses

Girls’ early pubertal timing has been linked in many studies to behavioral problems such as delinquency and substance use. The theoretical explanations for these links have often involved the girls’ peer relationships, but contexts have also been considered important in some explanations. By integrating two theoretical models, the peer-socialization and the contextual-amplification hypotheses, we propose a contextual framework for explaining the link between early pubertal timing and external problem behavior in girls. We hypothesize that early developing girls engage in unhealthy, dangerous, and risky behavior under contextual conditions that promote access to older friends and opposite-sex relationships. Under other conditions it is less likely. We tested this integrated hypothesis in two studies conducted in Sweden. The first was a cross-sectional study with information about school and free-time friends in a community sample (N = 284). Early pubertal timing was linked to having older, more normbreaking friends outside of school, but not in school, thus suggesting that the school context interferes early-developing girls’ selection of older peers. The second study involved both a longitudinal (N = 434) and a cross-sectional sample of girls (N = 634), where we examined a leisure setting that is known to attract delinquent youth. Results showed that early pubertal timing was most strongly linked to delinquency for girls who spent time in this context and were heavily involved with boys and peers. In sum, results from both studies supported our predictions that certain contexts would amplify the peer-socialization effect. Overall, we conclude that the integrated peer-socialization/contextual-amplification model satisfactorily explains the link between pubertal timing and external problem behavior.     

The Longitudinal Relationships Between Rural Adolescents’ Prosocial Behaviors and Young Adult Substance Use

While many adolescents and young adults experiment with substances (e.g., alcohol, cigarette smoking, marijuana), recent research suggests that rural youth and young adults may be more at risk for substance use than their urban counterparts. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationships between rural adolescents’ prosocial behaviors and substance use in young adulthood. Furthermore, we examined the potential mediating effects of adolescent substance use, academic investment, and delinquency. Rural youth (N = 531; 263 girls) were surveyed in grades 10–12 (Time 1; M age = 16.17; SD = .91) and again in early adulthood (Time 2). Measures of prosocial behaviors, substance use, academic investment, and deviant activities were assessed at Time 1. At Time 2, measures of marijuana use, cigarette smoking, and getting drunk were administered. Overall, the findings showed that rural adolescents who frequently exhibit prosocial behaviors are less likely to engage in substance use in young adulthood than those who exhibit relatively low levels of prosocial behaviors. These findings indicate that prosocial behaviors may have positive health consequences, establishing behavioral trajectories that lead to lower levels of risky health behaviors in adulthood in rural populations.     

Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality Among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Youth

Sexual minority youth report higher rates of depression and suicidality than do heterosexual youth. Little is known, however, about whether these disparities continue as youth transition into young adulthood. The primary goals of this study were to describe and compare trajectories of adolescent depressive symptoms and suicidality among sexual minority and heterosexual youth, examine differences in depressive symptoms and suicidality trajectories across sexual orientation subgroups, and determine whether there are gender differences in these longitudinal disparities. Four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed using latent curve modeling (N = 12,379; 53 % female). Results showed that the rates of depressive symptoms and suicidality in early adolescence were higher among sexual minority youth than among heterosexual youth, and that these disparities persisted over time as participants transitioned into young adulthood. Consistent with previous cross-sectional studies, the observed longitudinal disparities were largest for females and for bisexually-identified youth. Sexual minority youth may benefit from childhood and early adolescent prevention and intervention programs.     

Exploring Gender-Specific Trends in Underage Drinking Across Adolescent Age Groups and Measures of Drinking: Is Girls’ Drinking Catching Up with Boys’?

Underage drinking is among the most serious of public health problems facing adolescents in the United States. Recent concerns have centered on young women, reflected in media reports and arrest statistics on their increasing problematic alcohol use. This study rigorously examined whether girls’ alcohol use rose by applying time series methods to both arrest data, Uniform Crime Reports, and self-report data from Monitoring the Future, a nationally representative long-term survey gathered independently of crime control agents. All self-reported drinking behaviors across all age groups show declining or unchanged female rates and no significant change in the gender gap, while the official source displays a steady narrowing gender gap and some increase of female arrest rates for liquor law violations. Results indicate that social control measures applied to underage drinking have shifted to target young women’s drinking patterns, but their drinking has not become more widespread/problematic. Girls’ increased alcohol use and abuse is a socially constructed problem, rather than the result of normalization of drinking or more strain in girls’ lives. Future underage drinking policies and practices that apply legal intervention strategies to less chronic adolescent drinking behaviors will increase the visibility of girls’ drinking.     

Depressive Symptoms, Stress, and Support: Gendered Trajectories From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Stressful transitions in adolescence increase depressive symptoms, especially among girls. However, little is known about this risk as adolescents mature into young adulthood, especially about how parental support affects depression trajectories during this period. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this analysis investigates the role of gender in structuring the associations among stressful life events, parental support, and depression. Females reported more depressive symptoms at the outset of the study, a rank order that persisted along declining depression trajectories into young adulthood. In addition, stress accounts for the decline in trajectories for females but not males. Support from both parents has a salubrious effect on mental health, regardless of gender, but this effect dissipates as adolescents age into adulthood.     

Continuity and Changes in the Developmental Trajectories of Criminal Career: Examining the Roles of Timing of First Arrest and High School Graduation

Early onset of criminal career is one of the most robust predictors of persistence in offending. However, many antisocial children do not become chronic adult offenders. Using longitudinal data of young male offenders in the California Youth Authority, we examined trajectories of criminal behavior from childhood to adulthood. We particularly focused on the main and interaction effects of age at their first arrest and completion of high school education. First, we found that, on average, cumulative crime trajectory was curvilinear, with a subtle increase in childhood followed by a rapid increase in late adolescence and a slow down in adulthood. Second, earlier starters had a steeper cumulative growth in criminal behavior over time. Third, finishing high school served as a potential turning point in offenders’ lives, particularly for later starters. The results highlight that continuity and desistance in crime can be partially understood by timing of significant events and heterogeneity in response to turning points. Misaki N. Natsuaki is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Child Development at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She received her Ph.D. in human development at University of California, Davis in 2006. Her current research interest is the influences of biological and social correlates on trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems during adolescence. Xiaojia Ge is a Professor of the Institute of Child Development at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He received his PhD in sociology from the Iowa State University. He is interested in the influences of biological changes and social transitions on emotional and behavioral development in children and adolescents. Ernst Wenk is a research associate in the Department of Human and Community Development at University of California, Davis. His major research interests include crime and deviance.     

Adolescent Obesity and Young Adult Psychosocial Outcomes: Gender and Racial Differences

Using a sample of 7,881 African American (915 males and 1,073 females) and White (2,864 males and 3,029 females) adolescents from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined the psychosocial consequences that obese adolescents encounter as they reach young adulthood. Results indicate that obesity among adolescent females is associated with a lower status attainment in young adulthood than normal weight adolescent females. In addition, obese adolescent females have more depressive symptoms in young adulthood than normal weight females, even after controlling for prior depressive symptoms in adolescence. Obesity status among adolescent males is not associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes in young adulthood. We did not find evidence of an interaction between obesity status and race, indicating no significant differences in psychosocial outcomes for obese White compared to obese African American adolescents.

Emotional Variables in Adolescence,and Their Stability and Contribution to the Mental Health of Adult Men: Implications for Early Intervention Strategies

This longitudinal study documented the stability of the emotional of a sample of males from adolescence (age 14) through young adulthood (age 19) and into middle adulthood (age 48). Using the Offer Self-image Questionnaire (OSIQ), the Hess and Henry Identity Test, and the Symptoms Checklist (SCL-90), distinct emotional traits were found in 67 adolescent males that were important in determining their mental health status in adult life (age 48). The results clearly demonstrated that certain adolescent emotional states tend to remain a problem in adulthood as well. Intervention work that could be done in order to change any adverse trajectories set by these variables was discussed.     

Biological maturation in adolescence and the development of drinking habits and alcohol abuse among young males: A prospective longitudinal study

In the present study, the relationship between biological maturation (skeletal growth) in adolescence and the development of drinking habits and alcohol abuse were studied for a representative group of Swedish males. The results showed that early maturers and late maturers had more advanced drinking habits at age 14 as compared to their normally maturing same-aged peers (p<.05).This difference was not significant 1 1/2 years later. In young adulthood more than one third (36%) of the late maturers were registered for alcohol abuse as compared to 14% of the normal maturers and 8% of the early maturers (p=.12).The relevance of psychosocial factors as mediating the relationship between biology and actual behavior was discussed. It was emphasized that differences in biological and psychosocial maturity should be taken into consideration when studying adolescent behavior, both in cross-sectional and in longitudinal perspectives.This study was supported by funds from the Swedish Council for Planing and Coordination of Research, the Committee for Social Research, and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.Received Ph.D. from University of Stockholm 1988. Current research interest is the development of drinking habits and alcohol abuse.Current research interest is human development.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Reciprocal Effects of Alcohol Use and Interpersonal Violence Among Australian Young People

The impact of alcohol-related violence on individuals and society continues to receive attention from both media and policy makers. However, the longitudinal relationship between alcohol consumption and violence is unclear, with findings from prospective studies producing mixed results. The current study utilized Australian data from the International Youth Development Study to examine longitudinal relationships between alcohol consumption and severe interpersonal violence across the developmental periods of early adolescence to late adolescence/emerging adulthood. The full sample comprised 849 adolescents (53.8 % female) who had been followed up over a 5 year period, from Grade 7 secondary school (age 13) until Grade 11 secondary school (age 17). Cross-lagged path analysis was used to examine reciprocal relationships between alcohol consumption and interpersonal violence; analyses controlled for a range of covariates considered to be common risk factors for both behaviors. Alcohol use during early and mid adolescence was found to predict violence 2 years later, whereas a bi-directional relationship between adolescent heavy episodic drinking and violence was observed. Some of these relationships were not significant when covariates such as family conflict and affiliation with antisocial and drug using friends were included in the models. These findings suggest that risk processes begin in late childhood or very early adolescence; efforts to reduce one problem behavior are likely to reduce the other. Further, the role that social and family contexts have in influencing the relationships between alcohol use and interpersonal violence should be considered in future research to better inform preventive efforts.