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Increased Pre- and Early-Adolescent Stress in Youth with a Family History of Substance Use Disorder and Early Substance Use Initiation

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Abstract

Individuals with a family history of substance use disorders (Family History Positive) are more likely to have early-onset substance use (i.e., prior to age 15), which may contribute to their higher rates of substance use disorders. One factor that may differentiate Family History Positive youth who engage in early-onset substance use from other Family History Positive youth is exposure to stressors. The aim of this study was to quantify how exposure to stressors from age 11–15 varies as a function of family history of substance use disorders and early-onset substance use. Self-reported stressors were prospectively compared in a sample of predominately (78.9 %) Hispanic youth that included 68 Family History Positive youth (50 % female) who initiated substance use by age 15 and demographically matched non-users with (n = 136; 52.9 % female) and without (n = 75; 54.7 % female) family histories of substance use disorders. Stressors were assessed at 6-month intervals for up to 4 years. Both the severity of stressors and the degree to which stressors were caused by an individual’s own behavior were evaluated. All three groups differed from one another in overall exposure to stressors and rates of increase in stressors over time, with Family History Positive youth who engaged in early-onset substance use reporting the greatest exposure to stressors. Group differences were more pronounced for stressors caused by the participants’ behavior. Family History Positive users had higher cumulative severity of stressors of this type, both overall and across time. These results indicate greater exposure to stressors among Family History Positive youth with early-onset substance use, and suggest that higher rates of behavior-dependent stressors may be particularly related to early-onset use.

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Acknowledgments

Allison Ford, Marika Vela-Gude, David Hernandez, Anran Xu, Jessica Gutierrez-Barr, Susan McCorstin, Rachel Hubbard, James Newhouse and Amanda Paley provided technical assistance. Research reported in this publication was supported by NIDA of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01-DA026868, R01-DA033997, and T32-DA031115. Dr. Dougherty is also supported by the William and Marguerite Wurzbach Distinguished Professorship.

Author Contributions

NC conducted literature searches, summarized previous related work, contributed to data collection and statistical analyses, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. CM designed and coordinated the study, participated in the interpretation of results, and contributed to the initial draft of the manuscript. DD designed and coordinated the study and participated in the interpretation of results. SR made final determination of participants’ psychiatric diagnoses. BB and YL conducted the statistical analyses. AA and SL participated in the interpretation of results and helped draft the manuscript. All authors contributed to revisions and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurobehavioral Research, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, NRLC MC 7793, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA

    Nora E. Charles, Charles W. Mathias, Ashley Acheson, Stacy R. Ryan, Sarah L. Lake & Donald M. Dougherty

  2. Research Imaging Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Ashley Acheson

  3. The Methodology Center, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

    Bethany C. Bray

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Yuanyuan Liang

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  1. Nora E. Charles
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Correspondence to Donald M. Dougherty.

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Charles, N.E., Mathias, C.W., Acheson, A. et al. Increased Pre- and Early-Adolescent Stress in Youth with a Family History of Substance Use Disorder and Early Substance Use Initiation. J Youth Adolescence 44, 1954–1967 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0271-7

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