University of Maryland School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012 Jun 1;123(1-3):239-48. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.11.017. Epub 2011 Dec 19.
Substance use and psychological problems are major public health issues because of their high prevalence, co-occurrence, clustering in socio-economically disadvantaged groups, and serious consequences. However, their interrelationship over time is not well understood.
This study identifies and compares the developmental epidemiology from age 6 to 42 of substance use and psychological distress in a population of African American men and women. Data come from the Woodlawn study, a longitudinal study of an urban community cohort followed since 1966. We use structural equation modeling to examine pathways between substance use (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine) and psychological distress over time by gender.
We find significant continuity from adolescence to midlife for substance use and for psychological distress, as well as significant correlations within time periods between substance use and psychological distress, particularly among women. We also find greater adolescent substance use predicts psychological distress in young adulthood for men, but no cross-lag associations for women. Women's adolescent psychological distress and substance use are linked uniquely to that of their mothers. Findings show additional gender differences in the developmental etiology of substance use and psychological distress.
Findings demonstrate the continuity of substance use and psychological distress over time; the contemporaneous relationships between psychological distress and substance use within time periods, and minimal cross-lagged relationships. Findings also show that adolescent substance use may set boys on a pathway of long-term psychological distress, thus adding to evidence of negative consequences of frequent use.
物质使用和心理问题是重大的公共卫生问题，因为它们的高患病率、共同发生、在社会经济处于不利地位的群体中聚集以及严重后果。然而，它们随时间的相互关系尚不清楚。
本研究确定并比较了从 6 岁到 42 岁的物质使用和心理困扰在非裔美国男女人群中的发展流行病学。数据来自 Woodlawn 研究，这是一项对自 1966 年以来一直跟踪的城市社区队列进行的纵向研究。我们使用结构方程模型，根据性别，检查物质使用（即酒精、大麻和可卡因）和心理困扰随时间的发展途径。
我们发现，物质使用和心理困扰在青少年到中年时期都具有显著的连续性，以及在各个时期内物质使用和心理困扰之间存在显著的相关性，尤其是在女性中。我们还发现，青少年时期的物质使用越多，男性在青年时期的心理困扰就越大，但女性则没有交叉滞后关联。女性青少年时期的心理困扰和物质使用与母亲的心理困扰和物质使用独特相关。研究结果表明，物质使用和心理困扰的发展病因存在额外的性别差异。
研究结果表明，物质使用和心理困扰随时间具有连续性；在各个时期内，心理困扰和物质使用之间存在同时的关系，而交叉滞后关系很少。研究结果还表明，青少年时期的物质使用可能使男孩走上长期心理困扰的道路，从而增加了频繁使用的负面影响的证据。
