It is the overall goal of this project to examine both normative outcomes and differential consequences in adulthood (at T4) in relation to different developmental histories of drug and alcohol use as well as different histories of other risks.
The specific aims of the proposed project are twofold: (1) to examine normative differences in a broad range of indicators of adult functioning in relation to a limited number of distinct prototypical use trajectories, and (2) to examine differential outcomes in adult functioning in relation to differences in the developmental histories of other risk factors. Consequences of interest pertain to education attainments, criminal behavior, attainment of adult roles, health (physical and psychological), interpersonal relations, and personal satisfaction. The prototypical use histories to be compared, include (a) low to moderate use of both licit and illicit drugs throughout adolescence and early adulthood, (b) low to moderate use of both licit and illicit drugs throughout adolescence followed by heavier use in early adulthood, (c) time limited heavy use of licit and/or illicit drugs in adolescence followed by low to moderate use in early adulthood, and (d) emergence of heavy use of licit and/or illicit drugs during adolescence with persistence into early adulthood. The main analyses are based on a process-oriented perspective and designed to address both aims simultaneously. That is, only by simultaneously controlling for individual differences in the developmental history of other relevant risk factors is it possible to ascertain whether and to what extent differences in adult outcomes at T4 are the consequence of different use histories or the consequence of different histories of other risks. Analysis techniques will include multivariate hierarchical regression and conventional and hierarchical structural equation modeling.
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