Developmental timing of first drug treatment and 10-year patterns of drug use

Background: Patients treated for substance use disorders tend to persist in their drug use, often despite multiple episodes of drug treatment, but whether changes in drug use depend on when treatment occurs in the life course is poorly understood.

Methods: We applied a life course perspective to examine the developmental timing of first drug treatment and its associations with 10-year drug use patterns. Pooled data (N=1,318) from four longitudinal studies conducted in California was used to compare patients first treated during young adulthood (age 18-25, 26%) to those first treated at an older age (age >25). We created a matched sample to focus on age-related differences.

Results: Treatment timing was associated with particular patient characteristics and experiences. Growth mixture models using matched data showed that most patients in both age groups exhibited a low level of drug use over the ten years after first treatment, but fewer who were first treated during young adulthood maintained a low drug use level over time. Polynomial logistic regression analysis indicated that receipt of more drug treatment over ten years was associated with maintenance of low drug use levels among patients first treated as young adults, but not among patients first treated as older adults (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Developmental timing of first drug treatment interacts with subsequent treatment experiences in ways that impact the course of drug use. Findings broaden understanding of lifelong drug use behaviors and how to prevent or change the course of drug use and addiction.