Early Maturing Out of Problematic Alcohol Use

大多数研究表明，酒精使用量在大学期间达到顶峰，然后在30多岁时下降; 了解这个成熟的过程可能会澄清谁处于持续的酒精相关问题的风险中 （Jochman & Fromme，2010年）。然而，有证据表明，有些人成熟得更早： 对一些人来说，饮酒量下降的趋势开始在大学早期，多达三分之一的人 减少饮酒的大学生（Baer等人，2001年）。使用对发展敏感的 轨迹分析方法，有助于确定人口中经历不同经历的不同亚组 发展趋势，一直确定了一组，减少饮酒开始在第一次 大学一年：早熟群体（例如Schulenberg等人，1996; Greenbaum等人，2005年）。是 对于风险研究至关重要，因此对于公共卫生至关重要，以确定区分那些减少的因素。 他们从那些坚持高水平饮酒的人那里过早饮酒;这样做可以澄清 与大学有关的酒精问题和酒精使用障碍，并帮助制定早期有针对性的预防措施 和干预努力。过去的研究已经考察了情境和个体差异因素与 变化的轨迹（Chassin等人，2002年;盖茨等人，2016年;杰克逊和谢尔，2005年）。然而，这些研究 没有解决早熟出局的问题。拟议的研究强调了两种可能性：1）也许那些 过早成熟的人面临着成年人的责任，比如支付他们的教育费用/支持他们的生活。 家庭和/或2）那些坚持的人可能有更高水平的个性和学习为基础的风险因素 与那些早熟的人相比我建议对这两种可能性都进行测试。对于后者，我采用了 一种新的模式，它整合了消极紧迫感的人格特质，在高度紧张的情况下鲁莽行事的倾向， 消极情绪，以酒精预期的形式进行心理社会学习，这已被证明相当 有效地理解饮酒风险（Peterson等人，2018年）。本提案的研究部分 包括使用四波纵向设计（a）识别一组在早期降低饮酒水平的人， 大学和一组坚持使用轨迹分析和（B）测试这些群体是否可以 根据背景或个体差异因素进行区分。研究影响早期 成熟是新奇的。一个成功的测试将有明确的临床和公共卫生的影响，因为 拟议的项目可能为大学期间的有针对性的干预提供方向。培训 这项建议的一部分包括以下方面的培训：1）执行和管理一项 纵向研究，包括参与者招募、数据收集和随访; 2）复杂的统计学 分析，如多层次模型; 3）新兴的成年发展文献，这是可能的， 证明有助于理解早熟; 4）进一步的研究伦理培训; 5） 研究报告的准备和出版; 6）指导研究生和本科生。

Most research suggests that alcohol use peaks in the college years then declines into the mid-thirties; understanding this maturing out process may clarify who is at risk for ongoing alcohol-related problems (Jochman & Fromme, 2010). However, there is evidence that some individuals mature out much earlier: downward drinking trends for some individuals begin early in the college years, with as many as one third of college students decreasing their drinking (Baer et al., 2001). Work using the developmentally sensitive method of trajectory analysis, which helps identify different subgroups of a population who experience different developmental trends, has consistently identified a group that decreases drinking beginning during the first year of college: an early maturing out group (e.g. Schulenberg et al., 1996; Greenbaum et al., 2005). It is crucial for risk research, and thus for the public health, to identify factors that differentiate those who decrease their drinking early from those who persist in high levels of alcohol consumption; doing so would clarify risk for college-related alcohol problems and alcohol use disorder, and aid in developing earlier targeted prevention and intervention efforts. Past research has examined contextual and individual difference factors in relation to varying trajectories (Chassin et al., 2002; Gates et al., 2016; Jackson & Sher, 2005). However, those studies did not address early maturing out. The proposed research emphasizes two possibilities: 1) perhaps those who mature out early are facing adult-like responsibilities such as paying for their educations/supporting their families and/or 2) perhaps those who persist have higher levels of personality and learning-based risk factors compared to those who mature out early. I propose to test both possibilities. Concerning the latter, I apply a new model that integrates the personality trait of negative urgency, the tendency to act rashly when in a highly negative mood, with psychosocial learning in the form of alcohol expectancies, which has proven quite effective in understanding drinking risk (Peterson et al., 2018). The research component of this proposal involves using a four-wave longitudinal design to (a) identify a group that decreases drinking levels early in college and a group that persists using trajectory analyses and (b) test whether these groups can be differentiated on the basis of contextual or individual difference factors. Studying factors that influence early maturing out is novel. A successful test would have clear clinical and public health implications, as the proposed project is likely to provide direction for targeted intervention during the college years. The training component of this proposal includes training in the following: 1) the execution and management of a longitudinal study, including participant recruitment, data collection, and follow-up; 2) complex statistical analyses, such as multilevel modeling; 3) the emerging adulthood developmental literature, which is likely to prove helpful in understanding early maturing out; 4) further advanced training in research ethics; 5) preparation of research reports for publication; 6) mentoring of junior graduate and undergraduate students.