Substance Use & Girls: Stress, Hormones & Puberty

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然女孩在小学早期使用香烟、酒精和大麻的情况少于男孩，但女孩使用药物的普遍程度很快赶上并超过了8年级的男孩。拟议中的研究是一个试点的初步研究调查的过程中开始和升级的物质使用的女孩在青春期早期集中在三个领域，压力事件，青春期的成熟和时间，激素的影响。在指导初级研究的一般模型中，这些领域与女孩通过日常影响、侵略、抑郁和与使用物质的同龄人的联系而早期使用物质有关。本研究的具体目的是：（1）研究对五年级和八年级的女孩及其母亲进行密集的多方法评估的可行性，评估女孩的生活压力、情绪反应、青春期成熟和月经周期中的激素。(2)要检查的变化，可靠性和有效性的日常和每周的情绪反应的措施，作为衡量日常影响评级，与物质使用的同龄人，和亲和的应对，为5日和8年级的女孩，并检查数量和时间的日常和每周的数据需要获得足够的样本，这些变量和激素水平。我们还将评估我们的一些基于情感的措施的心理测量特性，特别关注五年级的样本。(3)为了获得效应量的估计：（a）参与者之间的慢性和偶发性压力事件，激素水平和物质使用的前兆之间的双变量关系作为年级的函数（5 vs. 8）和青春期时间（早期与按时/迟到）;以及这些变量与8年级学生早期物质使用之间的关系;和（B）在参与者的激素水平，情绪反应，亲和应对，并与物质使用的同龄人的关系，作为一个功能的等级和青春期的时间之间的双变量关系。为了实现这些目标，我们将使用多种方法评估80名女孩，其中40名在5年级和8年级，每个年级有20名早熟者，包括母亲和女孩完成的问卷，评估慢性和偶发性压力的生活压力访谈，以及由女护士评估女孩的身体成熟。在至少四周内，我们将使用电子个人数据助理（PDA）获得雌二醇、睾酮、孕酮和皮质醇的每周测量值以及瞬时和日终评估。所有的评估都将按照女孩的月经周期进行，非月经周期女孩的时间与月经周期女孩的时间相结合。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While girls' use of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana is less than that of boys in the early elementary years, the prevalence of girls' substance use quickly catches up to and surpasses that of boys by 8th grade. The proposed study is a pilot for a primary study investigating the processes related to the initiation and escalation of substance use among girls in early adolescence focusing on three domains, stressful events, pubertal maturation and timing, and hormonal influences. In the general model guiding the primary study, these domains are related to early substance use among girls through daily affect, aggression, depression, and affiliation with substance using peers. The specific aims of this study are: (1) to examine the feasibility of an intensive multi-method assessment conducted with 5th and 8th grade girls and their mothers assessing girls' life stress, emotional responses, pubertal maturation and hormones across the menstrual cycle. (2) To examine the variability, reliability and validity of daily and weekly measures of emotional responses, as measured by daily affect ratings, association with substance-using peers, and affiliative coping, for 5th and 8th grade girls and to examine the amount and timing of daily and weekly data required to obtain adequate samples of these variables and hormonal levels. We will also assess the psychometric properties of some of our questionnaire-based measures, with a particular focus on the 5th grade sample. (3) To obtain estimates of effect sizes for: (a) between participant bivariate relations among chronic and episodic stressful events, hormonal levels, and precursors to substance use as a function of grade (5 vs. 8th) and pubertal timing (early vs. on-time/late); and between these variables and early substance use for 8th graders; and (b) within participant bivariate relations between hormonal levels, emotional responses, affiliative coping, and affiliation with substance-using peers, as a function of grade and pubertal timing. To address these aims, we will assess 80 girls, 40 in both the 5th and 8th grade, with 20 early maturers in each grade using multiple methods, including questionnaires completed by both mothers and girls, a Life Stress Interview to assess chronic and episodic stress, and an assessment of the girls' physical maturation by a female nurse. For a minimum of four weeks, we will obtain weekly measures of estradiol, testosterone, progesterone and cortisol, as well as momentary and end of day assessments using an Electronic Personal Data Assistant (PDA). All assessments will be timed to menstruating girls' menstrual cycle, with timing of non-menstruating girls yoked to that of menstruating girls.