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Testing a Model of Universal Prevention Effects on Adolescent Relationships and Marijuana Use as Pathways to Young Adult Outcomes

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Abstract

There are several interrelated knowledge gaps in the literature on skills-building interventions for middle schoolers designed to prevent initiation of substance use, all of which concern the limited study of the adolescent pathways of those intervention effects on distal young adult outcomes. Among the most important yet understudied pathways of influence on long-term effects are positive youth relationship outcomes of middle-school interventions. Other influential pathways for long-term effects are reductions in adolescent substance misuse, particularly marijuana use, considering the long-term consequences of early marijuana initiation. To address these knowledge gaps, data from a randomized controlled trial were used to test a longitudinal, developmental model positing pathways of intervention effects on age 21 illicit drug use and positive relationship affect, via earlier effects on adolescent relationships and marijuana use. Sixth-graders and their families enrolled in 22 Iowa schools were randomly assigned to the Iowa Strengthening Families Program or a control group (N = 446). The average age of students at baseline was 11.3 years (10–13 year age range); 48% were male and 98% were Caucasian, reflective of the demographics in the participating rural Midwest communities. Measures included middle-school relationships (parents, peers, school), high school marijuana use, plus age 21 illicit drug use and relationship affect (parents, work, school), 10 years past intervention implementation. As expected, intervention effects on young adult variables were indirect, through effects on adolescent outcomes, with higher-risk participants showing greater intervention impact. The findings suggest preventive interventions with young adolescents have potential to demonstrate effects into young adulthood.

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Author Contributions

R.S. conceived of the study, serving as its lead investigator regarding design, measurement, and supervision of all aspects of implementation, as well as leading on drafting the manuscript; L.T. conducted the data analyses, assisting with the interpretation of the data and writing the summary of methods and results, and with editing the manuscript; C.S. participated in designing and implementing the study, consulted on the data analyses and on the summary of methods and results; K.R. assisted with the literature search and with article summaries, and participated in editing the manuscript; A.M. helped to edit the original manuscript and revise it subsequently. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant AA014702), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant DA010815), and the National Institute of Mental Health (grant MH049127).

Data Sharing and Declaration

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not yet publicly available. Please contact the corresponding author if there is interest in developing a data sharing agreement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, Iowa State University at 2625 N Loop Drive, Suite 2400, Ames, IA, 50010, USA

    Richard Spoth, Linda Trudeau & Chungyeol Shin

  2. College of Health Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Box 2177, Huntsville, TX, 77341, USA

    G. Kevin Randall

  3. National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, Boys Town, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA

    W. Alex Mason

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Correspondence to Richard Spoth.

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*the MS has not been submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration;

*the MS has not been published previously;

*the MS is based a longitudinal study grant that has been appropriately reported in multiple publications (the study entails 8 assessments across an 18-year period of time and has had many specific aims over that time period, with multiple types of outcomes measured and a multi-method measurement approach—accordingly, there has been a number of publications to address the aims specified, regarding follow-up assessments with participants as they progressed across the three developmental stages—with each of the publications intended to make a unique contribution to the literature and, in this particular case, with the intent of being responsive to a suggestion for the paper by the funding agency program officer);

*no data have been fabricated or manipulated to support conclusions;

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The Institutional Review Board at Iowa State University approved the study and its informed consent procedures.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Spoth, R., Trudeau, L., Shin, C. et al. Testing a Model of Universal Prevention Effects on Adolescent Relationships and Marijuana Use as Pathways to Young Adult Outcomes. J Youth Adolescence 48, 444–458 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0946-y

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