Heavy episodic drinking in adolescence and alcohol-related problems in adulthood: A developmental approach to alcohol use across the life course

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) is a major public health concern, and youth who engage in HED are at increased risk for alcohol-related problems that continue into adulthood. Importantly, there is heterogeneity in the onset and course of adolescent HED, as youth exhibit different trajectories of initiation and progression into heavy drinking. Much of what is known about the etiology of adolescent HED and alcohol-related problems that persist into adulthood comes from studies of predominantly White, middle-class youth. Because alcohol use and related problems vary by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, it is unclear whether previous findings are relevant for understanding developmental antecedents and distal consequences of adolescent HED for minoritized individuals. In the current study, we utilize a developmental psychopathology perspective to fill this gap in the literature. Using a racially and economically diverse cohort followed from adolescence well into adulthood, we apply group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to identify patterns of involvement in HED from age 14 to 17 years. We then investigate developmental antecedents of GBTM class membership, and alcohol-related distal outcomes in adulthood (∼ age 31 years) associated with GBTM class membership. Results highlight the importance of adolescent alcohol use in predicting future alcohol use in adulthood.

Opportunity and the sexual abuse of adolescents

OBJECTIVES

The risk of sexual abuse victimization was examined from a routine activity perspective. For comparison, predictors of sexual encounters with same-age peers were also examined.

METHODS

Analyses were based on a nationally representative sample of 24,823 Finnish youth who responded to questions about their sexual encounters with peers and with someone outside their family who was at least five years older.

RESULTS

Adolescents who had older friends and parents who did not monitor their social relationships were at greater risk of sexual abuse and peer encounters. In addition, delinquent youth had a higher risk of abuse than non-delinquents, controlling for exposure. Delinquent youth were also more likely to have favorable attitudes toward the abuse, to initiate the sexual encounter, and to experience repeat victimizations. Physical attractiveness, but not sexual maturity, was related to abuse.

CONCLUSIONS

Risk of sexual abuse is positively related to exposure to older people, susceptibility to deviant influence, and the target's value to the offender. A full understanding of risk factors requires a consideration of the victims' characteristics and their compliant behavior.

Social Networks and Health in a Prison Unit

Although a growing body of research documents lasting health consequences of incarceration, little is known about how confinement affects inmates' health while incarcerated. In this study, we examine the role of peer social integration and prisoners' self-reported health behaviors (smoking, exercise, perception of health, and depression) in a prison unit. We also consider whether inmates with similar health characteristics cluster within the unit. Drawing on a sample of 132 inmates in a "good behavior" unit, we leverage social network data to ask: In prison, is it healthier to become friends with other prisoners or keep your head down and "do your own time"? Using exponential random graph models and community detection methods, findings indicate that social integration is associated with better health outcomes. However, race-ethnicity, religious identity, and exercise intensity emerge as key factors sorting inmates into social groups and likely shaping the distribution of health behaviors observed in the unit.

EARLY LIFE RISKS, ANTISOCIAL TENDENCIES, AND PRETEEN DELINQUENCY

Early age-of-onset delinquency and substance use confer a major risk for continued criminality, alcohol and drug abuse, and other serious difficulties throughout the life course. Our objective is to examine the developmental roots of preteen delinquency and substance use. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 13,221), we examine the influence of early childhood developmental and family risks on latent pathways of antisocial tendencies from ages 3 to 7, and the influence of those pathways on property crime and substance use by age 11. We identified a normative, non-antisocial pathway; a pathway marked by oppositional behavior and fighting; a pathway marked by impulsivity and inattention; and a rare pathway characterized by a wide range of antisocial tendencies. Children with developmental and family risks that emerged by age 3-specifically difficult infant temperament, low cognitive ability, weak parental closeness, and disadvantaged family background-face increased odds of antisocial tendencies. There is minimal overlap between the risk factors for early antisocial tendencies and those for preteen delinquency. Children on an antisocial pathway are more likely to engage in preteen delinquency and substance use by age 11, even after accounting for early life risk factors.