Hostname: page-component-cc8bf7c57-qfg88 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-11T23:06:24.225Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The emergence of co-occurring adolescent polysubstance use and depressive symptoms: A latent growth modeling approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2015

Julia W. Felton*
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
Michael J. Kofler
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Cristina M. Lopez
Affiliation:
Medical University of South Carolina
Benjamin E. Saunders
Affiliation:
Medical University of South Carolina
Dean G. Kilpatrick
Affiliation:
Medical University of South Carolina
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Julia W. Felton, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

This study tests competing models of the relation between depression and polysubstance use over the course of adolescence. Participants included a nationwide sample of adolescents (N = 3,604), ages 12 to 17 at study Wave 1, assessed annually for 3 years. Models were tested using cohort-sequential latent growth curve modeling to determine whether depressive symptoms at baseline predicted concurrent and age-related changes in drug use, whether drug use at baseline predicted concurrent and age-related changes in depressive symptoms, and whether initial levels of depression predicted changes in substance use significantly better than vice versa. The results suggest a transactional model such that early polysubstance use promotes early depressive symptoms, which in turn convey elevated risk for increasing polysubstance use over time, which in turn conveys additional risk for future depressive symptoms, even after accounting for gender, ethnicity, and household income. In contrast, early drug use did not portend risk for future depressive symptoms. These findings suggest a complicated pattern of interrelations over time and indicate that many current models of co-occurring polysubstance use and depressive symptoms may not fully account for these associations. Instead, the results suggest a developmental cascade, in which symptoms of one disorder promote symptoms of the other across intrapersonal domains.

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alderson, R. M., Rapport, M. D., Hudec, K., Sarver, D. E., & Kofler, M. J. (2010). Competing core processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Do working memory deficiencies underlie behavioral inhibition deficits? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 497507.Google Scholar
Armstrong, T. D., & Costello, E. J. (2002). Community studies on adolescent substance use, abuse, or dependence and psychiatric comorbidity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 12241239.Google Scholar
Baker, T. B., Piper, M. E., McCarthy, D. E., Majeskie, M. R., & Fiore, M. C. (2004). Addiction motivation reformulated: An affective processing model of negative reinforcement. Psychological Review, 111, 3351. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.111.1.33 Google Scholar
Barnett, J. H., Werners, U., Secher, S. M., Hill, K. E., Brazil, R., Masson, K., et al. (2007). Substance use in a population-based clinic sample of people with first-episode psychosis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 515520. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.024448 Google Scholar
Begle, A. M., Hanson, R. F., Danielson, C. K., McCart, M. R., Ruggiero, K. J., Amstadter, A. B., et al. (2011). Longitudinal pathways of victimization, substance use, and delinquency: Findings from the National Survey of Adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 36, 682689. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.12.026 Google Scholar
Beyers, J. M., & Loeber, R. (2003). Untangling developmental relations between depressed mood and delinquency in male adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 247266.Google Scholar
Blumberg, S. J., & Luke, J. V. (2007). Coverage bias in traditional telephone surveys of low-income and young adults. Public Opinion Quarterly, 71, 734749.Google Scholar
Blumberg, S. J., & Luke, J. V. (2009). Reevaluating the need for concern regarding noncoverage bias in landline surveys. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 1806.Google Scholar
Boscarino, J. A., Galea, S., Adams, R. E., Ahern, J., Resnick, H., & Vlahov, D. (2004). Mental health service and medication use in New York after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Psychiatric Services, 55, 274283. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.55.3.274 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brook, J. S., Cohen, P., & Brook, D. W. (1998). Longitudinal study of co-occurring psychiatric disorders and substance use. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 322330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bukstein, O. G., Glancy, L. J., & Kaminer, Y. (1992). Patterns of affective comorbidity in a clinical population of dually diagnosed adolescent substance abusers. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 11951203.Google Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cantwell, D. P., Lewinsohn, P. M., Rhode, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1997). Correspondence between adolescent report and parent report of psychiatric diagnostic data. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 610619. doi:10.1097/00004583-199705000-00011 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Capaldi, D. M. (1992). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: II. A 2-year follow-up at Grade 8. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 125144. doi:10.1017/S0954579400005605 Google Scholar
Chen, P., & Jacobson, K. C. (2012). Developmental trajectories of substance use from early adolescence to young adulthood: Gender and racial/ethnic differences. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50, 154163.Google Scholar
Chinet, L., Plancherel, B., Bolognini, M., Bernard, M., Laget, J., Daniele, G., et al. (2006). Substance use and depression: Comparative course in adolescents. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 15, 149155.Google Scholar
Ciesla, J. R. (2010). Evaluating the risk of relapse for adolescents treated for substance abuse. Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment, 9, 8792. doi:10.1097/ADT.0b013e3181b8cd05 Google Scholar
Clark, D. B., Pollock, N., Bukstein, O. G., Mezzich, A. C., Bromberger, J. T., & Donovan, J. E. (1997). Gender and comorbid psychopathology in adolescents with alcohol dependence. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1195–1203.Google Scholar
Colder, C. R. (2001). Life stress, physiological and subjective indexes of negative emotionality, and coping reasons for drinking: Is there evidence for a self-medication model of alcohol use? Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 15, 237245.Google Scholar
Colder, C. R., Scalco, M., Trucco, E. M., Read, J. P., Lengua, L. J., Wieczorek, W. F., et al. (2013). Prospective associations of internalizing and externalizing problems and their co-occurrence with early adolescent substance use. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 667677. doi:10.1007/s10802-012-9701-0 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558577. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.112.4.558 Google Scholar
Cole, D. A., Tram, J. M., Martin, J. M., Hoffman, K. B., Ruiz, M. D., Jacquez, F. M., et al. (2002). Individual differences in the emergence of depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A longitudinal investigation of parent and child reports. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 156165. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.111.1.156 Google Scholar
Conrod, P. J., Stewart, S. H., Comeau, N., & Maclean, A. M. (2006). Efficacy of cognitive–behavioral interventions targeting personality risk factors for youth alcohol misuse. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 550563.Google Scholar
Conway, K. P., Vullo, G. C., Nichter, B., Wang, J., Compton, W. M., Iannotti, R. J., et al. (2013). Prevalence and patterns of polysubstance use in a nationally representative sample of 10th graders in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, 716723.Google Scholar
Cooper, M. L. (1994). Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 6, 117128. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.117 Google Scholar
Cooper, M. L., Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Mudar, P. (1995). Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 9901005. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.990 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Costello, E. J., Angold, A., & Keeler, G. P. (1999). Adolescent outcomes of childhood disorders: The consequences of severity and impairment. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 121128.Google Scholar
Costello, E. J., Egger, H., & Angold, A. (2005). 10-year research update review: The epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: I. Methods and public health burden. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 972986.Google Scholar
DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. (2007). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2006 (US Census Bureau Current Population Reports, Series P60-233). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Deykin, E. Y., Buka, S. L., & Zeena, T. H. (1992). Depressive illness among chemically dependent adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 13411347.Google Scholar
Duncan, T. E., Duncan, S. C., & Strycker, L. A. (2006). An introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2009). Situational and generalised conduct problems and later life outcomes: Evidence from a New Zealand birth cohort. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 10841092.Google Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2011). Structural models of the comorbidity of internalizing disorders and substance use disorders in a longitudinal birth cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46, 933942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Swain-Campbell, N. (2002). Cannabis use and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence and young adulthood. Addiction, 97, 11231135.Google Scholar
Fleming, C. B., Mason, W. A., Mazza, J. J., Abbott, R. D., & Catalano, R. F. (2008). Latent growth modeling of the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use during adolescence. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 186197.Google Scholar
Fox, C. L., Towe, S. L., Stephens, R. S., Walker, D. D., & Roffman, R. A. (2011). Motives for cannabis use in high-risk adolescent users. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25, 492500. doi:10.1037/a0024331 Google Scholar
Goodman, E., & Huang, B. (2002). Socioeconomic status, depressive symptoms, and adolescent substance use. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 156, 448.Google Scholar
Goodman, E., Slap, G. B., & Huang, B. (2003). The public health impact of socioeconomic status on adolescent depression and obesity. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 18441850. doi:10.2105/ajph.93.11.1844 Google Scholar
Graber, J. A. (2013). Pubertal timing and the development of psychopathology in adolescence and beyond. Hormones and Behavior, 64, 262269. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.04.003 Google Scholar
Hallfors, D. D., Waller, M. W., Bauer, D., Ford, C. A., & Halpern, C. T. (2005). Which comes first in adolescence —Sex and drugs or depression? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29, 163170.Google Scholar
Hesselbrock, M. N., & Hesselbrock, V. M. (1997). Gender, alcoholism, and psychiatric comorbidity. In Wilsnach, R. W. & Wilsnach, S. C. (Eds.), Gender and alcohol: Individual and social perspectives (pp. 4971). Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies.Google Scholar
Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2011). Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2010 . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
Jolliffe, D., Farrington, D. P., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Kosterman, R. (2003). Predictive, concurrent, prospective and retrospective validity of self-reported delinquency. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 13, 179197. doi:10.1002/cbm.541 Google Scholar
Kandel, D. B., Davies, M., Karus, D., & Yamaguchi, K. (1986). The consequences in young adulthood of adolescent drug involvement: An overview. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 746754.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J., Birmaher, B., Brent, D., Rao, U., Flynn, C., Moreci, P., et al. (1997). Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children—Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL): Initial reliability and validity data. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 980988.Google Scholar
Kazemian, L., & Farrington, D. P. (2005). Comparing the validity of prospective, retrospective, and official onset for different offending categories. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 21, 127147.Google Scholar
Kilpatrick, D. G., Acierno, R., Saunders, B., Resnick, H. S., Best, C., & Schnurr, P. P. (2000). Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse and dependence: Data from a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 1930. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.68.1.19 Google Scholar
Kilpatrick, D. G., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno, R., Saunders, B., Resnick, H. S., & Best, C. L. (2003). Violence and risk of PTSD, major depression, substance abuse/dependence, and comorbidity: Results from the National Survey of Adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 692700. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.4.692 Google Scholar
Kirisci, L., Vanyukov, M., Dunn, M., & Tarter, R. (2002). Item response theory modeling of substance use: An index based on 10 drug categories. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 16, 290298.Google Scholar
Kofler, M. J., McCart, M. R., Zajac, K., Ruggiero, K. J., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2011). Depression and delinquency covariation in an accelerated longitudinal sample of adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 458469.Google Scholar
Lanza, S. T., & Collins, L. M. (2002). Pubertal timing and the onset of substance use in females during early adolescence. Prevention Science, 3, 6982. doi:10.1023/a:1014675410947 Google Scholar
Lembke, A. (2012). Time to abandon the self-medication hypothesis in patients with psychiatric disorders. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 38, 524529.Google Scholar
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Adolescent psychopathology: III. The clinical consequences of comorbidity. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 510519.Google Scholar
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1998). Major depressive disorder in older adolescents: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 765794.Google Scholar
Lynskey, M. T., Coffey, C., Degenhardt, L., Carlin, J. B., & Patton, G. (2003). A longitudinal study of the effects of adolescent cannabis use on high school completion. Addiction, 98, 685692.Google Scholar
Marmorstein, N. R. (2009). Longitudinal associations between alcohol problems and depressive symptoms: Early adolescence through early adulthood. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33, 4959.Google Scholar
Martinez, P., & Richters, J. E. (1993). The NIMH community violence project: II. Children's distress symptoms associated with violence exposure. In Reiss, D. & Ritchers, J. E. (Eds.), Children and violence (pp. 2134). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mason, W. A., Hitchings, J. E., & Spoth, R. L. (2007). Emergence of delinquency and depressed mood throughout adolescence as predictors of late adolescent problem of substance use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 1324.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491495.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Roisman, G., Long, J., Burt, K., Obradovic, J., Riley, J. R., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733746.Google Scholar
McCart, M. R., Zajac, K., Danielson, C. K., Strachan, M., Ruggiero, K. J., Smith, D. W., et al. (2011). Interpersonal victimization, posttraumatic stress disorder, and change in adolescent substance use prevalence over a ten-year period. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40, 136143.Google Scholar
McCarthy, D. E., Curtin, J. J., Piper, M. E., & Baker, T. B. (2010). Negative reinforcement: Possible clinical implications of an integrative model. In Kassel, J. D. (Ed.), Substance abuse and emotion. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
McKowen, J. W., Tompson, M. C., Brown, T. A., & Asarnow, J. R. (2013). Longitudinal associations between depression and problematic substance use in the Youth Partners in Care study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/15374416.2012.759226 Google Scholar
Needham, B. L. (2007). Gender differences in trajectories of depressive symptomatology and substance use during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Social Science and Medicine, 65, 11661179. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.04.037 Google Scholar
Newcomb, M. D., & Bentler, P. M. (1988). Impact of adolescent drug use and social support on problems of young adults: A longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 6475.Google Scholar
O'Neil, K. A., Conner, B. T., & Kendall, P. C. (2011). Internalizing disorders and substance use disorders in youth: Comorbidity, risk, temporal order, and implications for intervention. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 104112.Google Scholar
Paternoster, R., Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (1998). Using the correct statistical test for the equality of regression coefficients. Criminology, 36, 859866.Google Scholar
Rao, U., Daley, S. E., & Hammen, C. (2000). Relationship between depression and substance use disorders in adolescent women during the transition to adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 215222.Google Scholar
Repetto, P. B., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. H. (2008). A longitudinal study of depressive symptoms and marijuana use in a sample of inner-city African Americans. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18, 421447.Google Scholar
Rohde, P., Beevers, C. G., Stice, E., & O'Neil, K. (2009). Major and minor depression in female adolescents: Onset, course, symptom presentation, and demographic associations. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 13391349. doi:10.1002/jclp.20629 Google Scholar
Rohde, P., Clarke, G. N., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Kaufman, N. K. (2001). Impact of comorbidity on a cognitive–behavioral group treatment for adolescent depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 795802.Google Scholar
Saules, K. K., Pomerleau, C. S., Snedecor, S. M., Mehringer, A. M., Shadle, M. B., Kurth, C., et al. (2004). Relationship of onset of cigarette smoking during college to alcohol use, dieting concerns, and depressed mood: Results from the Young Women's Health Survey. Addictive Behaviors, 29, 893899.Google Scholar
Schuckit, M. A. (2006). Comorbidity between substance use disorders and psychiatric conditions. Addiction, 101, 7688.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schweizer, K. (2010). Some guidelines concerning the modeling of traits and abilities in test construction. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26, 12.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C. P., Dulcan, M. K., & Schwab-Stone, M. E. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 2838.Google Scholar
Smit, F., Monshouwer, K., & Verdurmen, J. (2002). Polydrug use among secondary school students: Combinations, prevalences and risk profiles. Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy, 9, 355365.Google Scholar
Stice, E., Burton, E. M., & Shaw, H. (2004). Prospective relations between bulimic pathology, depression, and substance abuse: Unpacking comorbidity in adolescent girls. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 6271.Google Scholar
Svensson, R. (2003). Gender differences in adolescent drug use: The impact of parental monitoring and peer deviance. Youth and Society, 34, 300329. doi:10.1177/0044118x02250095 Google Scholar
Trenz, R. C., Scherer, M., Harrell, P., Zur, J., Sinha, A., & Latimer, W. (2012). Early onset of drug and polysubstance use as predictors of injection drug use among adult drug users. Addictive Behaviors, 37, 367372. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.11.011 Google Scholar
Trudeau, L., Spoth, R., Randall, G. K., & Azevedo, K. (2007). Longitudinal effects of a universal family-focused intervention on growth patterns of adolescent internalizing symptoms and polysubstance use: Gender comparisons. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 725740.Google Scholar
Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2006). The effect of lifetime victimization on the mental health of children and adolescents. Social Science and Medicine, 62, 1327.Google Scholar
Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort, difference on the children's depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578588.Google Scholar
Waller, M. W., Hallfors, D. D., Halpern, C. T., Iritani, B. J., Ford, C. A., & Guo, G. (2006). Gender differences in associations between depressive symptoms and patterns of substance use and risky sexual behavior among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 9, 139150.Google Scholar
White, A. M., Jordan, J. D., Schroeder, K. M., Acheson, S. K., Georgi, B. D., Sauls, G., et al. (2004). Predictors of relapse during treatment and treatment completion among marijuana-dependent adolescents in an intensive outpatient substance abuse program. Substance Abuse, 25, 5359.Google Scholar
Wiesner, M., & Ittel, A. (2002). Relations of pubertal timing and depressive symptoms to substance use in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22, 523. doi:10.1177/0272431602022001001 Google Scholar
Wilker, A. (1948). Recent progress in research on the neurophysiologic basis of morphine addiction. American Journal of Psychiatry, 105, 329338.Google Scholar
Windle, M., & Windle, R. C. (2001). Depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking among middle adolescents: Prospective associations and intrapersonal and interpersonal influences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 215226.Google Scholar
Wolff, J. C., & Ollendick, T. H. (2006). The comorbidity of conduct problems and depression in childhood and adolescence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 9, 201220.Google Scholar
Wu, L.-T., Woody, G. E., Yang, C., Pan, J.-J., & Blazer, D. G. (2011). Racial/ethnic variations in substance-related disorders among adolescents in the United States. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68, 11761185. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.120 Google Scholar
Zapert, K., Snow, D. L., & Tebes, J. K. (2002). Patterns of substance use in early through late adolescence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 835852.Google Scholar