Diverging Marijuana Use Trajectories in Black & White Men: Antecedents & Outcomes

描述（由申请人提供）：大麻是美国最常用和滥用的非法药物。大麻使用（MU）的流行率在青春期增加，在20年代初达到顶峰，此后逐渐下降。然而，MU的发展轨迹存在相当大的个体差异，一些青少年继续使用大麻进入成年早期，其他人随着时间的推移而停止使用MU。虽然一些研究已经研究了在青春期预测MU的因素，但对促进或阻碍MU进入成年的过程知之甚少。此外，很少有研究描述了与MU不同轨迹相关的不良成人结局，包括青少年频繁使用可能导致的大脑结构和功能的潜在损伤。此外，大多数关于青少年MU的研究都集中在主要的白色样本上，因此还不清楚这些发现是否可以外推到黑人青少年身上。该提案将通过利用匹兹堡青年研究（PYS）的数据来解决这些限制，PYS是一项前瞻性纵向研究，包括两个队列中的1009名男孩，从童年（6岁）或青春期早期（12岁）到成年早期（28岁或35岁）。其目的是：1）描述MU从青少年到成年的发展过程，并检查影响MU的风险/保护因素和早期成人积极生活事件 和白色男性; 2）记录黑人和白色男性MU的不同发展轨迹与成人心理社会调整之间的联系; 3）检查频繁的青少年MU与成年期大脑结构和功能异常之间的关联。国家的最先进的分析将确定不同的轨迹MU从青春期早期到成年。路径分析将评估早期反社会风险和亲社会保护因素影响MU轨迹的过程，并确定积极的成人生活事件是否影响正在进行的MU轨迹的偏离。与MU的发展模式相关的不良成人心理社会后果也将被描绘出来。在这些分析中，我们将探讨与黑人男性相对于白人的MU相关的模式，前兆和结果的潜在差异，包括研究哪些因素可能有助于解释MU的种族差异。最后，使用参与神经影像学研究的PYS青少年子样本（N=171），我们将确定频繁的青少年MU是否与成年后的灰质和白色脑异常以及处理情感线索和接受奖励时的脑功能缺陷相关。从这个项目产生的开创性论文将有助于确定发展突出和文化上适当的风险/保护因素，应针对旨在预防慢性MU的计划。他们还将阐明与MU的不同轨迹相关的潜在负面心理社会和神经生物学后果，这些后果可以纳入使用大麻的青少年的动机增强干预措施中，并为有关大麻合法化的公共政策提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Marijuana is the most commonly used and abused illicit drug in the U.S. The prevalence of marijuana use (MU) increases across adolescence, peaks in the early 20s, and gradually declines thereafter. However, there is considerable individual variability in developmental trajectories of MU, with some adolescents continuing to use marijuana into early adulthood and others desisting from MU over time. While several studies have examined factors that predict MU during adolescence, little is known about the processes that promote or hinder desistance from MU into adulthood. Additionally, few studies have characterized the adverse adult outcomes associated with divergent trajectories of MU, including potential impairments in brain structure and function that may result from frequent use in adolescence. Moreover, most studies on teen MU have focused on predominately White samples, making it unclear whether the findings can be extrapolated to Black teens. This proposal will address these limitations by leveraging data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS), a prospective longitudinal study that includes 1009 boys in two cohorts followed from childhood (age 6) or early adolescence (age 12) into young adulthood (age 28 or 35). The aims are to: 1) Characterize the developmental course of MU from adolescence to adulthood and examine the risk/protective factors and early adult positive life events that influence MU in Black and White males; 2) Document the link between different developmental trajectories of MU and adult psychosocial adjustment in Black and White males; and 3) Examine the association between frequent adolescent MU and abnormalities in brain structure and function in adulthood. State-of-the-art analysis will identify varying trajectories of MU from early adolescence to adulthood. Path analysis will assess the processes by which early antisocial risk and pro social protective factors influence trajectories of MU, and determine whether positive adult life events influence deviations from ongoing MU trajectories. The adverse adult psychosocial outcomes associated with developmental patterns of MU will also be delineated. Across these analyses, we will explore potential differences in the patterns, precursors, and outcomes associated with MU in Black males relative to Whites, including examining what factors may help explain racial differences in MU. Finally, using a subsample of PYS youth who participated in a neuroimaging study (N=171), we will determine whether frequent adolescent MU is associated with gray and white matter brain abnormalities in adulthood, and brain function deficits while processing emotional cues and receiving rewards. The pioneering papers generated from this project will help to identify developmentally salient and culturally appropriate risk/protective factors that should be targeted by programs designed to prevent chronic MU. They will also elucidate the potential negative psychosocial and neurobiological consequences associated with different trajectories of MU, which can be incorporated into motivational enhancement interventions for marijuana using teens and inform public policies regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical use.