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Alcohol, Marijuana and Other Illicit Drugs Use Throughout Adolescence: Co-occurring Courses and Preadolescent Risk-Factors

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Abstract

This study examined developmental patterns of co-occurrent alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs use during adolescence and the associated preadolescent risk factors in a longitudinal sample of 926 boys from low-socioeconomic, urban neighborhoods. Latent growth mixture modeling revealed six developmental patterns: non-/low-alcohol and non-illicit drug users (61% sample) and five polysubstance user-groups varying in severity based on onset, frequency and type of substances used. In comparisons with non-/low-users, several preadolescent risk factors were associated with increasing severity of polysubstance use. Higher sensation-seeking and lower anxiety were associated with all user-groups. Low self-esteem and family-related risk factors differentiated all user-groups from later-onset users. Higher impulsivity and school problems characterized early-onset and frequent polysubstance users. Impulsive sensation-seekers with lower anxiety and self-esteem cumulated a larger number and higher severity of risk factors and were at risk of early-onset frequent polysubstance use, emphasising the importance of indicated prevention for these high-risk boys.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the families and the participants of the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study for their collaboration to this project, and the staff of the Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment for data collection and management.

Funding

We thank the Québec Government Ministry of Health, the Fond Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, Canada’s Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and the University of Montréal for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, 3050 Edouard-Montpetit, suite 225, Montreal, QC, H3T 1J7, Canada

    Rene Carbonneau & Richard E. Tremblay

  2. Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Canada

    Rene Carbonneau, Frank Vitaro, Mara Brendgen & Richard E. Tremblay

  3. Research Unit On Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Rene Carbonneau, Frank Vitaro, Mara Brendgen & Richard E. Tremblay

  4. School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Frank Vitaro

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Mara Brendgen

  6. Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Richard E. Tremblay

  7. School of Public Health and Population Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Richard E. Tremblay

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  1. Rene Carbonneau
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  2. Frank Vitaro
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  4. Richard E. Tremblay
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Correspondence to Rene Carbonneau.

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Carbonneau, R., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M. et al. Alcohol, Marijuana and Other Illicit Drugs Use Throughout Adolescence: Co-occurring Courses and Preadolescent Risk-Factors. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 53, 1194–1206 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01202-w

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