Drinking Trajectories Through Young Adulthood

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的目的是确定从青少年到青年的酒精使用和滥用模式的饮酒轨迹，并确定哪些个人和人际因素与这些不同的途径有差异。 这个年龄范围是根据现有文献选择的，这些文献表明大多数酒精相关问题开始于20多岁之前，如果问题饮酒随着时间的推移而减轻，那么这种成熟将发生在30岁之前。 三个具体目标将指导这项调查： a）确定从青春期到青年期的酒精使用轨迹; B）检查儿童期风险因素与从青春期到青年期的酒精使用过程之间的关系;以及c）检查每个轨迹与成人过渡和心理社会结果的关联。 作为正在进行的一项重大酒精研究项目的一部分，将从大约400名23至26岁的年轻人中获得终生饮酒史。 将使用潜在类别分析对数据进行分析，以使用两种方法建立饮酒类别：1）整个饮酒史过程中存在/不存在酒精滥用/依赖的模式; 2）每年的症状认可模式。 儿童期的风险因素和成人相关的每个轨迹将与第一种类型的数据进行检查，预测的过渡在饮酒类从一年到另一个将与第二次检查。 预计，确定成人的相关性，除了更远的童年饮酒轨迹的风险因素，将提高酒精课程的理解和促进干预。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this study is to identify drinking trajectories that characterize patterns of alcohol use and abuse from adolescence to young adulthood and to determine what individual and interpersonal factors are differentially associated with these various pathways. This age range was chosen in light of the extant literature indicating that the majority of alcohol-related problems begin prior to the mid-twenties and if problem drinking is to abate over time, such maturing out will occur prior to 30 years of age. Three specific aims will guide this inquiry: a) to identify alcohol use trajectories that characterize the age range from adolescence to young adulthood; b) to examine the relationship between childhood risk factors and the course of alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood; and c) to examine the association of each trajectory with adult transitions and psychosocial outcomes. As part of a major ongoing alcohol research project, lifetime drinking histories will be obtained from approximately 400 young adults 23 to 26 years of age. The data will be analyzed using Latent Class Analysis to establish drinking classes using two methods: 1) patterns of presence/absence of alcohol abuse/dependence over the full course of drinking history; 2) patterns of symptom endorsement each year. Childhood risk factors and adult correlates of each trajectory will be examined with the first type of data; predictors of transitions in drinking class from one year to another will be examined with the second. It is anticipated that identifying adult correlates, in addition to more distal childhood risk factors of drinking trajectories, will enhance understanding of alcohol course and facilitate interventions.