Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Transitions in Current Substance Use from Adolescence to Early-Adulthood

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Substance use behaviors do not occur in isolation of one another and are not static over time. As adolescents age into early adulthood, there may be dynamic changes in their substance use behaviors, and these changes may be influenced by family and school factors. The current study uses Latent Transition Analysis to examine these changes by measuring transitions among different substance use profiles based on past 30-day alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use, and by estimating associations with demographic, family and school factors. Data were from youth (n = 850; 80 % African American, 17 % white, 3 % mixed race, 50 % female and 50 % male) in grade 10 (Time 1), with 24- (Time 2) and 48-month (Time 3) follow-ups. Substance use profiles included Non-users (54 %), Alcohol and Marijuana Users (20 %), and Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana Users (26 %). There were considerable transitions among profiles from Time 1 to Time 2, and fewer transitions from Time 2 to Time 3. At Time 1, African American race and positive school attitudes were negatively associated with being an Alcohol and Marijuana User, and being an Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana User. Family conflict, parental school involvement, female gender and African American race were associated with transitions among substance use profiles. Implications are discussed for a better understanding of transitions in substance use profiles, and for promoting maintenance of non-use and transitions from substance using profiles to non-use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 121, 1–2. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309379.003.0001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, L., Butler, H., Thomas, L., Carlin, J., Glover, S., Bowes, G., & Patton, G. (2007). Social and school connectedness in early secondary school as predictors of late teenage substance use, mental health, and academic outcomes. The Journal of adolescent health : Official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 40(4), 357.e9–357.e18. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branstetter, S. A., Low, S., & Furman, W. (2011). The influence of parents and friends on adolescent substance use: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Substance Use. doi:10.3109/14659891.2010.519421.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, F. M., Magnusson, J., Spencer, N., & Morgan, A. (2012). Adolescent multiple risk behaviour: An asset approach to the role of family, school and community. Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England), 34(Suppl 1), i48–i56. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fds001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, A. L., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (2003). How academic achievement, attitudes, and behaviors relate to the course of substance use during adolescence: A 6-year, multiwave national longitudinal study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(3), 361–397. doi:10.1111/1532-7795.1303005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chassin, L., Fora, D. B., & King, K. M. (2004). Trajectories of alcohol and drug use and dependence from adolescence to adulthood: The effects of familial alcoholism and personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113(4), 483–498. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.113.4.483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, M. J., Collins, L. M., Lanza, S. T., Greenberg, M. T., & Feinberg, M. E. (2010). Does individual risk moderate the effect of contextual-level protective factors? A latent class analysis of substance use. Journal of prevention & intervention in the community, 38(3), 213–228. doi:10.1080/10852352.2010.486299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, L. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2013). Latent class and latent transition analysis: With applications in the social, behavioral, and health sciences (p. 320). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cordova, D., Heinze, J., Mistry, R., Hsieh, H.-F., Stoddard, S., Salas-Wright, C. P., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2014). Family functioning and parent support trajectories and substance use and misuse among minority urban adolescents: A latent class growth analysis. Substance Use and Misuse, 49(14), 1908–1919. doi:10.3109/10826084.2014.935792.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cordova, D., Parra-Cardona, R., Blow, A., Johnson, D., Prado, G., & Fitzgerald, H. E. (2013). The role of intrapersonal factors on alcohol and drug use among latinos with physical disabilities. Journal of social work practice in the addictions, 13(3), 244–268. doi:10.1080/1533256X.2013.812007.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dierker, L. C., Vesel, F., Sledjeski, E. M., Costello, D., & Perrine, N. (2007). Testing the dual pathway hypothesis to substance use in adolescence and young adulthood. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 87(1), 83–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durkin, K. F., Wolfe, T. W., & Clark, G. (1999). Social bond theory and binge drinking among college students: A multivariate analysis. College Student Journal, 33, 450–461.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dziak, J., & Coffman, D. (2012). Sensitivity and specificity of information criteria. The Methodology Center…. .Accessed May 11, 2015, from http://methodology.psu.edu/media/techreports/12-119.pdf.

  • Fergus, S., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2005). Adolescent resilience: A framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 399–419. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime (p. 297). Redwood: Stanford University Press. Accessed May 1, 2015, from https://books.google.com/books?id=loNPs7n94p0C&pgis=1.

  • Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Miller, J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64–105. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C. (2001). Parenting, self-control, and delinquency: A test of self-control theory. Criminology, 39(3), 707–736. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2001.tb00938.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency (p. 309). California: University of California Press. Accessed May 1, 2015, from http://books.google.com/books/about/Causes_of_Delinquency.html?id=53MNtMqy0fIC&pgis=1.

  • Hirschi, T. (2004). Self-control and crime. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 535–552). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hix-Small, H., Duncan, T. E., Duncan, S. C., & Okut, H. (2004). A multivariate associative finite growth mixture modeling approach examining adolescent alcohol and marijuana use. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(4), 255–270. doi:10.1023/B:JOBA.0000045341.56296.fa.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howell, R. J., Bolland, J., & Lian, B. (2012). Soft drug sequencing among a sample of alabama youth : A longitudinal analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Science, 7(1), 47–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyatt, S. L., & Collins, L. M. (2000). Using latent transition analysis to examine the relationship between perceived parental permissiveness and the onset of substance use. In J. S. Rose, L. Chassin, C. C. Presson, & S. J. Sherman (Eds.), Multivariate applications in substance use research (pp. 259–288). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, K. M., Sher, K. J., Cooper, M. L., & Wood, P. K. (2002). Adolescent alcohol and tobacco use: Onset, persistence and trajectories of use across two samples. Addiction, 97(5), 517–531.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., & Bachman, J. G. (2003). Monitoring the future national survey results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2002 (p. 56). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2013). Monitoring the future: National survey results on drug use 1975–2012.

  • Kakade, M., Duarte, C. S., Liu, X., Fuller, C. J., Drucker, E., Hoven, C. W., et al. (2012). Adolescent substance use and other illegal behaviors and racial disparities in criminal justice system involvement: Findings from a US National Survey. American Journal of Public Health. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300699.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B. (2002). Stages and pathways of drug involvement: Examining the gateway. In D. B. Kandel (Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Lanza, S. T., Patrick, M. E., & Maggs, J. L. (2010). Latent transition analysis: Benefits of a latent variable approach to modeling transitions in substance use. Journal of Drug Issues, 40(1), 93–120.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loke, A. Y., & Mak, Y.-W. (2013). Family process and peer influences on substance use by adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 10, 3868–3885. doi:10.3390/ijerph10093868.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maldonado-Molina, M. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2010). A framework to examine gateway relations in drug use: An application of latent transition analysis. Journal of Drug Issues, 40(4), 901–924. doi:10.1177/002204261004000407.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marti, C. N., Stice, E., & Springer, D. W. (2010). Substance use and abuse trajectories across adolescence: A latent trajectory analysis of a community-recruited sample of girls. Journal of adolescence, 33(3), 449–461. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.06.005.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGinnis, J. M., & Foege, W. H. (1999). Mortality and morbidity attributable to use of addictive substances in the united states. Proceedings of the Association of American Physicians, 111(2), 109–118.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Midgley, C., Maehr, M. L., & Urdan, T. (1993). Manuals for the patterns of adaptive learning survey (PALS). Ann Arbor: The University of Ann Arbor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, C. M., & Plunkett, M. (2000). The latent structure of substance use among American Indian adolescents: An example using categorical variables. American journal of community psychology, 28(1), 105–25. Accessed May 1, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10824276.

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674–701. Accessed May 5, 2015, from http://dl2af5jf3e.search.serialssolutions.com/?sid=APA&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft.atitle=Adolescence-limitedandlife-course-persistentantisocialbehavior:Adevelopmentaltaxonomy.&rft.aufirst=TerrieE.&rft.aulast=Moffitt&rft.date=1993-10&rft.epage=701&rft.

  • Moos, R. H., & Moos, D. S. (1981). Family environment scale manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. (2004). Latent variable analysis: Growth mixture modeling and related techniques for longitudinal data. In D. Kaplan (Ed.), Handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences (pp. 345–368). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakao, K., & Treas, J. (1990). Computing 1989 occupational prestige scores. Chicago, IL: National Opinion Research Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • PROC LCA & PROC LTA (Version 1.3.0) [Software]. (2013). University Park: The Methodology Center, Penn State.

  • Procidano, M. E., & Heller, K. (1983). Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: Three validation studies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 1–24. doi:10.1007/BF00898416.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ragland, D. R. (1992). Dichotomizing continuous outcome variables: Dependence of the magnitude of association and statistical power on the cutpoint. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 3(5), 434–440. doi:10.1097/00001648-199209000-00009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roeser, R. W., Lord, S. E., & Eccles, J. S. (1994). A portrait of academic alienation in adolescence: Motivation, mental health, and family experience. San Diego, CA. http://rcgd.isr.umich.edu/garp/presentations/eccles94l.pdf.

  • Ryan, S. M., Jorm, A. F., & Lubman, D. I. (2010). Parenting factors associated with reduced adolescent alcohol use: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 44, 774–783. doi:10.1080/00048674.2010.501759.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L. (2010). Analysis of incomplete multivariate data (Google eBook) (p. 448). Boca Raton: CRC Press. Accessed May 23, 2014, from http://books.google.com/books/about/Analysis_of_Incomplete_Multivariate_Data.html?id=3TFWRjn1f-oC&pgis=1.

  • Schulenberg, J., Patrick, M. E., Maslowsky, J., & Maggs, J. L. (2014). The epidemiology and etiology of adolescent substance use in developmental perspective. In M. Lewis & K. D. Rudolph (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (pp. 601–620). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Spoth, R., Reyes, M. L., Redmond, C., & Shin, C. (1999). Assessing a public health approach to delay onset and progression of adolescent substance use: Latent transition and log-linear analyses of longitudinal family preventive intervention outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 619–630.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S. F. (2009). The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience. doi:10.1177/155005940904000110.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinman, K. J., & Schulenberg, J. (2003). A pattern-centered approach to evaluating substance use prevention programs. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2003(101), 87–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. L., Becker, L. G., Huber, A. M., & Catalano, R. F. (2012). Review of risk and protective factors of substance use and problem use in emerging adulthood. Addictive Behaviors, 37(7), 747–775. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.02.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1999). An ecodevelopmental framework for organizing the influences on drug abuse: A developmental model of risk and protection. In Drug abuse: Origins & interventions (pp. 331–366). doi:10.1037/10341-014

  • Tarter, R. E. (2002). Etiology of adolescent substance abuse: A developmental perspective. American Journal on Addictions, 11, 171–191.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. (2012). Chapter 2: Prevelance and consequences. In Addiction medicine: Closing the gap between science and practice (pp. 39–61). New York, NY: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

  • Townsend, L., Flisher, A. J., & King, G. (2007). A systematic review of the relationship between high school dropout and substance use. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 10, 295–317. doi:10.1007/s10567-007-0023-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. DHHS. (2012). Preventing tobacco use among youth and young adults: A report of the surgeon general. Atlanta, GA. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/preventing-youth-tobacco-use/full-report.pdf.

  • Vakalahi, H. F. (2001). Adolescent substance use and family-based risk and protective factors: A literature review. Journal of Drug Education, 31(1), 29–46. doi:10.2190/QP75-P9AR-NUVJ-FJCB.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, M. G., Salas-Wright, C. P., DeLisi, M., & Maynard, B. R. (2013). Violence and externalizing behavior among youth in the United States: Is there a severe 5%? Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 12(1), 3–21. doi:10.1177/1541204013478973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue, Y., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. H. (2007). Neighborhood residence and cigarette smoking among urban youths: The protective role of prosocial activities. American Journal of Public Health, 97(10), 1865–1872. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.081307.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. A., Caldwell, C. H., & Bernat, D. H. (2002). Discrepancy between self-report and school-record grade point average: Correlates with psychosocial outcomes among African American adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32(1), 86–109. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01421.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Grant No. DA07484. PI: Marc A. Zimmerman. The research reported here does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Authors’ contributions

RM conceptualized the paper and wrote significant portions of the paper. JH conducted the data analysis, drafted the analysis and results sections, and reviewed drafts of paper. DC reviewed drafts of the paper. HH and SA helped draft the methods section and reviewed drafts of the paper. JG critically reviewed the statistical approach and drafts of the paper. MZ oversaw the scientific integrity of the paper and critically reviewed drafts of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, SPH I, Room 3806, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Ritesh Mistry, Justin E. Heinze, Hsing-Fang Heish, Sophie M. Ayer & Marc A. Zimmerman

  2. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    David Cordova

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jason E. Goldstick

Authors
  1. Ritesh Mistry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Justin E. Heinze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Cordova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hsing-Fang Heish
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jason E. Goldstick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sophie M. Ayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Marc A. Zimmerman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ritesh Mistry.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mistry, R., Heinze, J.E., Cordova, D. et al. Transitions in Current Substance Use from Adolescence to Early-Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 44, 1871–1883 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0309-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0309-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation