The proposed investigation is focused on a group of youngsters rarely studied by developmental scientists in the past, those in relatively affluent, suburban families. The few studies that do exist indicate surprisingly high maladjustment among these youth across various domains, particularly substance use and subjective distress. The central objective of this research is to illuminate the ontogenesis of substance use and related problems among suburban teens, with special attention to forces likely to be especially salient in this contextual setting and at this developmental stage. Specifically, based on annual assessments of a cohort of suburban youth from the 6th through 12th grades, we will pursue the following aims: (1.) To examine developmental trajectories across the pre- through late adolescent years;(2.) To examine the antecedents of substance useamong suburban adolescents, including individual factors (subjective distress and behavioral competence); context-relevant pathways (including achievement pressures and disconnection from parents); and influences of the peer community (peers? endorsement of substance use); (3.) To examine the consequences of substance usethrough the high school years, including those pertaining to self-reported inner distress problems in everyday social competence (academic difficulties and behavioral non-conformity), and alienation from parents. Each of these objectives will be pursued separately for boys and girls. Assessments involve multiple respondents and multiple instruments with good psychometric properties, and substance use is measured in terms of both annual and monthly use of different substances, as well as problem severity. The sample will consist of a cohort of sixth grade students (n=338) in an affluent town in the North East. Baseline 6th grade), as well as one- and two-year prospective data have already been obtained, and funding is being requested to follow this cohort for four more annual assessments. Tracking these youth through a seven-year period spanning pre-adolescence (prior to the onset of substance use and related problems) through late adolescence (by which time many problems have become crystallized) will be invaluable in documenting the pathways to, and consequences of, substance use by a group of youngsters at apparently high risk -- yet little studied in the past.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DA014385-04
Application #
7028935
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-RPHB-4 (05))
Program Officer
Chambers, Jessica Campbell
Project Start
2003-02-01
Project End
2008-01-31
Budget Start
2006-02-01
Budget End
2007-01-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$257,726
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University Teachers College
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Education
DUNS #
071050983
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10027
Luthar, Suniya S; Small, Phillip J; Ciciolla, Lucia (2018) Adolescents from upper middle class communities: Substance misuse and addiction across early adulthood. Dev Psychopathol 30:315-335
Hein, Sascha; Stone, Logan; Tan, Mei et al. (2018) Child internalizing problems and mother-child discrepancies in maternal rejection: Evidence for bidirectional associations. J Fam Psychol 32:229-239
Ciciolla, Lucia; Curlee, Alexandria S; Karageorge, Jason et al. (2017) When Mothers and Fathers Are Seen as Disproportionately Valuing Achievements: Implications for Adjustment Among Upper Middle Class Youth. J Youth Adolesc 46:1057-1075
Ansary, Nadia S; McMahon, Thomas J; Luthar, Suniya S (2017) Trajectories of emotional-behavioral difficulty and academic competence: A 6-year, person-centered, prospective study of affluent suburban adolescents. Dev Psychopathol 29:215-234
Infurna, Frank J; Luthar, Suniya S (2017) The multidimensional nature of resilience to spousal loss. J Pers Soc Psychol 112:926-947
Infurna, Frank J; Luthar, Suniya S (2016) Resilience Has Been and Will Always Be, but Rates Declared Are Inevitably Suspect: Reply to Galatzer-Levy and Bonanno (2016). Perspect Psychol Sci 11:199-201
Infurna, Frank J; Luthar, Suniya S (2016) Resilience to Major Life Stressors Is Not as Common as Thought. Perspect Psychol Sci 11:175-94
Naumova, Oksana Yu; Hein, Sascha; Suderman, Matthew et al. (2016) Epigenetic Patterns Modulate the Connection Between Developmental Dynamics of Parenting and Offspring Psychosocial Adjustment. Child Dev 87:98-110
Luthar, Suniya S; Ciciolla, Lucia (2016) What it feels like to be a mother: Variations by children's developmental stages. Dev Psychol 52:143-54
Luthar, Suniya S (2015) Mothering mothers. Res Hum Dev 12:295-303

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