247175 Developmental trajectories of alcohol use during adolescence and emerging adulthood health

Monday, October 31, 2011

Zhaoqing Huang, MD , Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA
Jimi Huh, PhD , Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA
Mary Ann Pentz, PhD , Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA
Chih-Ping Chou, PhD , Keck School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA
Background: Adolescent alcohol use is considered a major risk factor for health in later developmental stage, although few studies captured the longitudinal relationship between patterns of drinking behavior at younger ages and later health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify distinctive developmental trajectories in adolescent alcohol use and to link these trajectories to emerging adulthood health. Methods: Ten waves of longitudinal data were drawn from a sample of 1,206 participants in the Midwestern Prevention Project, a community-based drug prevention program. The SAS Trajectory Procedure was used to fit a series of linear and nonlinear trajectory models. AIC and BIC criteria were employed to select the best fit model with a reasonable number of subgroups. Results: The final model suggested three distinctive developmental trajectories: group 1 with stable limited or none alcohol use, group 2 with a high initial use and a slow increase rate, and group 3 with a low initial use and a faster increase rate. Males, Whites, low SES, and those who attended public schools were more likely to be classified into either group 2 or group 3 (p<0.05). Compared to the other two groups, participants in group 3 experienced more stress during emerging adulthood (p<0.05). Participants in group 2 and 3 reported significantly poorer perceived general health than those in group 1 (p<0.05). Conclusions: Findings suggest distinctive subgroups in development of alcohol use during adolescence. Furthermore, the identified group membership was significantly associated with a number of health indicators measured in emerging adulthood.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
To identify developmental trajectories of adolescent alcohol use by using the SAS Trajectory Procedure. To describe the characteristics of identified developmental trajectories in adolescent alcohol use. To assess the relationship between the patterns in development of adolescent alcohol use and emerging adulthood health.

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Adult Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral student in the health behavior research program and a graduate research assistant for adolescent substance use research. I am responsible for the data analysis and the interpretation of the results.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.