The overall aim is to further the understanding of the mental health and psychosocial antecedents and consequences of drug behavior and of developmental processes in involvement in drug use. The consequences of interest encompass those for the individual user and those for the user's family, including spouse and children. The drugs under study include cigarettes, alcohol, illicit drugs, especially marijuana and cocaine, and medically prescribed psychoactives. The objectives of the research are to identify: (1) the mental health and behavioral consequences for young adults of the use of marijuana and other substances, including cigarettes, alcohol and cocaine, (2) the predictors of cessation of drug use in young adulthood, (3) the interpersonal influences on drug use, and (4) the effects of drug use on the family, including marital interactions, child-rearing practices and children's behaviors. The attainment of these aims depends on a continuing program of epidemiological and longitudinal investigations. The studies will be based on: (1) the extensive longitudinal and relational data collected on two samples: (a) a cohort of focal respondents (N=1,222) contacted at three points in time, in adolescence at age 15-16, and in young adulthood at ages 24-25 and 28-29; and (b) spouses/partners (N=561) at age 28-29; and (2) new data to be collected in year #04 (1990) of requested renewed support, when respondents will be 34-35 years old and their oldest child 8-16. The cohort constitutes a representative sample of former adolescents enrolled in grades 10 and 11 in New York State public high schools in 1971 and includes regular students and school absentees. Focal respondents were contacted in 1971-72, and reinterviewed in 1980 and 1984 through personal interviews that included detailed retrospective life and drug histories and measures of functioning, including depressive symptoms, physical health, work and family participation. In 1984, psychosocial functioning of the children and characteristics of the respondents' social networks, including drug use, were assessed in the focal respondents' interviews; data from spouses or partners were also obtained through a mail survey.
| Kandel, Eric R; Kandel, Denise B (2014) Shattuck Lecture. A molecular basis for nicotine as a gateway drug. N Engl J Med 371:932-43 |
| Hu, Mei-Chen; Griesler, Pamela C; Wall, Melanie M et al. (2014) Reciprocal associations between cigarette consumption and DSM-IV nicotine dependence criteria in adolescent smokers. Addiction 109:1518-28 |
| Strong, David R; Schonbrun, Yael Chatav; Schaffran, Christine et al. (2012) Linking measures of adult nicotine dependence to a common latent continuum and a comparison with adolescent patterns. Drug Alcohol Depend 120:88-98 |
| Hu, Mei-Chen; Griesler, Pamela C; Schaffran, Christine et al. (2012) Trajectories of criteria of nicotine dependence from adolescence to early adulthood. Drug Alcohol Depend 125:283-9 |
| Levine, Amir; Huang, Yanyou; Drisaldi, Bettina et al. (2011) Molecular mechanism for a gateway drug: epigenetic changes initiated by nicotine prime gene expression by cocaine. Sci Transl Med 3:107ra109 |
| Kandel, Denise; Schaffran, Christine; Hu, Mei-Chen et al. (2011) Age-related differences in cigarette smoking among whites and African-Americans: evidence for the crossover hypothesis. Drug Alcohol Depend 118:280-7 |
| Hu, Mei-Chen; Griesler, Pamela; Schaffran, Christine et al. (2011) Risk and protective factors for nicotine dependence in adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 52:1063-72 |
| Griesler, Pamela C; Hu, Mei-Chen; Schaffran, Christine et al. (2011) Comorbid psychiatric disorders and nicotine dependence in adolescence. Addiction 106:1010-20 |
| Strong, David R; Kahler, Christopher W; Colby, Suzanne M et al. (2009) Linking measures of adolescent nicotine dependence to a common latent continuum. Drug Alcohol Depend 99:296-308 |
| Kandel, Denise B; Hu, Mei-Chen; Yamaguchi, Kazuo (2009) Sequencing of DSM-IV criteria of nicotine dependence. Addiction 104:1393-402 |
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