Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010 Aug 1;110(3):193-9. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.01.023. Epub 2010 Apr 24.
We examined the conceptual utility of modeling use of multiple substances as a trait represented by a unified dimension throughout adolescence. Adolescents (710 males and 676 females) participating in a longitudinal community study were asked whether they had used alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, other controlled substances, or uncontrolled substances (i.e. over-the-counter medications and inhalants) at ages 11, 14, and 17. Using an item response theory framework, model fit indices demonstrated that although all substance use remained part of a single latent dimension, model parameters differed with age and according to sex. The impact of sex was observed at the level of the overall dimension, with reported substance use generally indicating a higher trait level (i.e. greater severity) in females than in males. While using these substances provided good information on individual trait level in mid- to late-adolescence, the trait was poorly characterized by substance use in early adolescence. Across ages and sexes, use of alcohol and tobacco tended to indicate lower trait levels than use of marijuana, other controlled substances, and uncontrolled substances. All substances provided a similar amount of information on the underlying dimension (except for uncontrolled substances, which provided the least information). This suggests that measurement and interpretation of adolescent substance use is enhanced by the consideration of a wide range of substances.
我们考察了将多种物质的使用建模为贯穿整个青春期的统一维度的特征的概念效用。参与一项纵向社区研究的青少年（710 名男性和 676 名女性）在 11、14 和 17 岁时被问及是否使用过酒精、烟草、大麻、其他管制物质或不受管制的物质（即非处方药物和吸入剂）。使用项目反应理论框架，模型拟合指数表明，尽管所有物质的使用仍然是单一潜在维度的一部分，但模型参数随年龄和性别而异。性别影响在整个维度的水平上观察到，与男性相比，女性报告的物质使用通常表明更高的特征水平（即更严重）。虽然这些物质的使用可以提供关于个体特质水平的良好信息，但在青少年早期，特质特征很差。在各个年龄段和性别中，与大麻、其他管制物质和不受管制的物质相比，使用酒精和烟草往往表明特质水平较低。所有物质在潜在维度上提供的信息相似（除了不受管制的物质，提供的信息最少）。这表明，通过考虑广泛的物质，可以增强对青少年物质使用的测量和解释。
