Tackaberry-Giddens Leah, Henderson Joanna, Hawke Lisa D
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario.
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;32(3):150-160. Epub 2023 Aug 1.
Alcohol use in early adolescence is associated with increased health concerns and other negative consequences. Given the needs of this vulnerable population, it is critical to understand their risk factors and clinical characteristics.
This cross-sectional study explores the clinical and demographic characteristics of service-seeking youth with and without early alcohol use onset.
655 youth seeking services at a Canadian substance use and concurrent disorder service participated. Evaluations of mental health, substance use, demographic characteristics, and other risk factors were collected and compared among youth who reported an age of onset for alcohol use of under 14 years of age versus 14 years or older.
Youth who started using alcohol before age 14 were significantly more likely to report mental health difficulties, indicate use of a greater number of substances, and report experiencing more crime and violence problems. They also reported exposure to more types of trauma. Notably, more problems with crime and violence were significantly, and uniquely associated with an earlier age of alcohol use onset in a multivariate model.
The present study identifies unique and clinically significant differences among youth who initiated alcohol use in early adolescence compared to later in adolescence. Stronger integrations between mental health and substance use services for youth with early alcohol use should be considered, given the vulnerability and concurrent difficulties they tend to face.
青少年早期饮酒与更多的健康问题及其他负面后果相关。鉴于这一弱势群体的需求，了解他们的风险因素和临床特征至关重要。
这项横断面研究探讨了有或无早期饮酒开始情况的寻求服务的青少年的临床和人口统计学特征。
655名在加拿大物质使用和并发障碍服务机构寻求服务的青少年参与了研究。收集了心理健康、物质使用、人口统计学特征和其他风险因素的评估数据，并在报告饮酒开始年龄在14岁以下与14岁及以上的青少年之间进行了比较。
14岁之前开始饮酒的青少年更有可能报告心理健康问题，表明使用的物质种类更多，并报告经历更多犯罪和暴力问题。他们还报告遭受了更多类型的创伤。值得注意的是，在多变量模型中，更多的犯罪和暴力问题与更早的饮酒开始年龄显著且独特地相关。
本研究确定了青少年早期开始饮酒与青少年后期开始饮酒之间独特且具有临床意义的差异。鉴于早期饮酒的青少年往往面临的脆弱性和并发困难，应考虑为他们加强心理健康和物质使用服务之间的整合。
