Citation

D'Amico EJ, Tucker JS, Miles JN, Ewing BA, Shih RA, Pedersen ER. Addiction 2016; 111(10): 1825-1835.

Affiliation

RAND Corporation, 1776 Main St., Santa Monica, CA, 90407.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.13442

PMID

27130360

Abstract

AIMS: We tested race/ethnic differences in alcohol and marijuana (AM) trajectories (comprising an intercept term; reflecting overall probability of use, and a slope term; reflecting change in probability of use) during adolescence, whether AM use trajectories predicted high school outcomes, and whether outcomes differed by race/ethnicity after controlling for trajectory of AM use.

DESIGN: This longitudinal study involved n = 6,509 youth from 16 middle schools in Southern California surveyed from age 11.5 (2008) to age 17 (2015); all surveys assessed AM use, and the final survey also examined high school outcomes. SETTING: Youth completed five surveys in middle school and two online surveys in high school. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was 50% male and 80% non-White. MEASUREMENTS: Intercept (at 2.75 years post baseline) and slope of AM use were examined as outcomes for race/ethnic differences. AM use trajectories were examined as predictors of academic performance and unpreparedness, social functioning, mental and physical health, and delinquency.

FINDINGS: We found differences in trajectories of use by race/ethnicity with white youth reporting a higher overall intercept of alcohol use compared to all other groups (v. Asian p < .001, Black p = .001, Multi-ethnic p = .008). Overall, examination of trajectories of use showed that adolescents with a higher alcohol use intercept term reported greater academic unpreparedness (p < .001) and delinquency (p < .001) at wave 7 in high school. In addition, youth with a higher intercept for marijuana use reported greater academic unpreparedness (p < .001) and delinquency (p < .001), and poorer academic performance (p = .032) and mental health (p = .002) in high school. At wave 7, compared to White youth, Hispanic and multi-ethnic youth reported poorer academic performance (p < .001 and p = 0.034, respectively); Asian, Black, and Hispanic youth reported higher academic unpreparedness (p < .001, p = .019, and p = .001); and Asian youth and multi-ethnic youth reported poorer physical health (p = .012 and p = .018) controlling for AM use.

CONCLUSIONS: Greater AM use was associated with worse functioning in high school for all youth. After controlling for AM use, non-White youth reported worse outcomes in high school for academics and health.

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Language: en