The Rutgers Health and Human Development Project (RHHDP) was first funded in 1978. Initial testing of subjects, aged 12, 15, and 18, occurred between 1979-1981. The sample consists of 698 males and 682 females. Grants from both NIDA and NIAAA made it possible to retest subjects on three additional occasions. Our tracking efforts have been relatively successful in view of overall longitudinal follow up rate of over 87% of the original sample. The present application seeks support for two years for the analyses of data regarding the relationship of familial (grandparent, parent and sibling) histories of substance use and/or psychopathologies to subject developmental trajectories of alcohol and selected adult outcomes for all of the study participants. The proposed project is aimed at extending previous studies by using prospective, longitudinal comparisons (from ages 12 through 31), a broad range of variables, and subjects recruited through a stratified, random, quota sampling of households. The proposed research plan will employ data collected over a 13 year time frame.
The specific aims of this study are: (1) To examine the variety and predictive value of subtypes of alcoholic families. We wish to document the timing of the onset of alcoholism among parents across the four points of time, both in terms of the age of the parent and the age of the subject at the time of onset, (2) To compare individuals different familial (grandparent, parent and siblings) drinking histories (with and without a variety of psychosocial problems including depression, anxiety, and antisocial behaviors) with appropriate """"""""risk free"""""""" families and to assess between-group differences in both developmental levels and trends for a relatively broad range of variables and (3) To examine individual differences in vulnerability and resilience within groups by identifying relationships between drinking outcomes on the one hand and potential mediating and moderating mechanisms on the other. The main analyses addressing the aims of this proposal will use as dependent variables measures of psychological, social and health-related outcomes and measures of alcohol and other drug use/abuse at age 25-31 and employ (1) correlational analyses (zero-order and partial correlations), (2) multivariate hierarchical multiple regression in the case of continuous dependent variables (logistic regression in the case of dichotomous dependent variables), and/or (3) structural equation modeling. Independent variables will include indicators of familial alcohol use, familial environment, alcohol history/prototype,age, gender, and developmental antecedents measured at earlier ages.
| Warner, Lynn A; White, Helene R; Johnson, Valerie (2007) Alcohol initiation experiences and family history of alcoholism as predictors of problem-drinking trajectories. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 68:56-65 |
| White, H R; Johnson, V; Buyske, S (2000) Parental modeling and parenting behavior effects on offspring alcohol and cigarette use. A growth curve analysis. J Subst Abuse 12:287-310 |
