Early Childhood Predictors of Adolescent Substance Use in a High Risk Sample

描述（由申请人提供）：酗酒者的子女（COA）是未成年饮酒人口的一个重要组成部分。他们有4到10倍的风险发展临床上显着的酒精问题，更早开始饮酒，并更快地从酒精使用到滥用的进展。该应用程序的主要目标是获得关键的数据，从幼儿期的关键风险和保护因素，以预测青少年物质使用和其他危险行为的高风险样本的特点是父母的酒精问题和人口统计学匹配的对照组。从一般心理学文献中有充分的证据表明，早期干预是预防风险增加的最有效方法，特别是在高危人群中。因此，从婴儿期开始的物质使用的预测因素的知识是至关重要的，以确定针对可能影响COA中物质使用风险的过程的早期干预的内容。针对对药物使用具有病因学意义的发育过程，并重点减少或加强关键风险和保护机制，作为减少药物滥用风险的预防策略可能非常有效。这是唯一一个从婴儿期开始对关键风险和保护机制（依恋、养育质量、自我调节、行为问题）进行多方法（观察、神经心理学、父母、孩子和教师报告）评估的COA样本。预计目前应用的结果将为预防方案的时间和内容提供信息，该方案侧重于COA中未成年人饮酒和吸毒的前体。样本将包括227个（102个对照，125个COA）在婴儿期招募的家庭（111个女孩和116个男孩）。在12、18、24和36个月大的儿童年龄进行阶段性显著发展结果以及潜在风险和保护机制的多方法评估，并在幼儿园、4年级、6年级和8年级进行随访评估。这些孩子将进入高中，在当前的应用程序中，我们建议评估物质使用和其他危险行为以及风险的近端预测因子，如父母监控，同伴使用，犯罪和物质使用认知（期望，动机，规范）。测试的主要目的如下：检查从18个月到高中的行为问题轨迹的作用，作为青少年物质使用的预测因子;检查自我调节的作用，作为中介或调节父母的酒精问题和物质使用轨迹之间的关联，从青春期早期到晚期;并检查父母的温暖/敏感性和/或依恋安全在婴儿期的作用。研究结果将用于制定儿童早期干预计划 旨在减少这些高危儿童的物质使用风险。来自当前应用的数据对于告知该早期干预计划的时间和内容至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children of alcoholics (COAs) are a large and critical component of the underage drinking population. They have a 4 to 10 time's greater risk of developing clinically significant alcohol problems, an earlier onset of drinking, and a more rapid progression from alcohol use to abuse. The major goal of this application is to obtain critical data regarding key risk and protective factors from early childhood to predict adolescent substance use and other risky behaviors in a high risk sample characterized by parents' alcohol problems and a demographically matched control group. There is ample evidence from the general psychological literature that early intervention is most effective in preventing trajectoris of risk, especially in high risk populations. Thus, knowledge about predictors of substance use beginning in infancy is crucial for determining the content of early intervention targeted at processes that may impact substance use risk among COAs. Targeting developmental processes that are of etiological significance for substance use and focusing on reducing or bolstering key risk and protective mechanisms may be highly effective as a prevention strategy for reducing substance abuse risk among COAs. This is the only sample of COAs with multi-method (observational, neuropsychological, parent, child, and teacher report) assessments of key risk and protective mechanisms (attachment, parenting quality, self-regulation, behavior problems) beginning in infancy. It is expected that the results from the current application will inform the timing and content of a prevention program focused on precursors of underage drinking and drug use among COAs. The sample will consist of 227 (102 controls, 125 COAs) families who were recruited in infancy (111 girls and 116 boys). Multi-method assessments of stage salient developmental outcomes as well as potential risk and protective mechanisms were conducted at 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of child age, with follow-up assessments in kindergarten, 4th, 6th, and 8th grades. These children will be entering high school and in the current application we propose to assess substance use and other risky behaviors as well as proximal predictors of risk such as parental monitoring, peer use, delinquency, and substance use cognitions (expectancies, motives, norms). Key aims tested will be as follows: to examine the role of trajectories of behavior problems from 18 months to high school as predictors of adolescent substance use; to examine the role of self-regulation as mediating or moderating the association between parents' alcohol problems and trajectories of substance use from early to late adolescence; and to examine the role of parental warmth/sensitivity and/or attachment security in infancy. The results will be used to develop an early intervention program for children of alcoholics designed to reduce substance use risk among these high risk children. Data from the current application will be critical to inform the timing and content of this early interventio program.