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Background/aim The polygenic risk score (PRS) shows promise as a potentially effective approach to summarize genetic risk for complex diseases such as alcohol use disorder that is influenced by a combination of multiple variants, each of which has a very small effect. Yet, conventional PRS methods tend to over-adjust confounding factors in the discovery sample and thus have low power to predict the phenotype in the target sample. This study aims to address this important methodological issue. Methods This study proposed a new method to construct PRS by (1) approximating the polygenic model using a few principal components selected based on eigen-correlation in the discovery data; and (2) conducting principal component projection on the target data. Secondary data analysis was conducted on two large scale databases: the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE; discovery data) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; target data) to compare performance of the conventional and proposed methods. Result and conclusion The results show that the proposed method has higher prediction power and can handle participants from different ancestry backgrounds. We also provide practical recommendations for setting the linkage disequilibrium (LD) and p value thresholds.

Understanding factors increasing susceptibility to social contexts and predicting psychopathology can help identify targets for prevention. Persistently high externalizing behavior in adolescence is predictive of psychopathology in adulthood. Parental monitoring predicts low externalizing behavior, yet youth likely vary in the degree to which they are affected by parents. Genetic variants of GABA receptor subunit alpha-2 (GABRA2) may increase susceptibility to parental monitoring, thus impacting externalizing trajectories. We had several objectives: (a) to determine whether GABRA2 (rs279827, rs279826, rs279858) moderates the relationship between a component of parental monitoring, parental knowledge, and externalizing trajectories; (b) to test the form of this interaction to assess whether GABRA2 variants reflect risk (diathesis–stress) or susceptibility (differential susceptibility) factors; and (c) to clarify GABRA2 associations on the development of problem behavior. This prospective study (N = 504) identified three externalizing trajectory classes (i.e., low, decreasing, and high) across adolescence. A GABRA2 × Parental Monitoring effect on class membership was observed, such that A-carriers were largely unaffected by parental monitoring, whereas class membership for those with the GG genotype was affected by parental monitoring. Findings support differential susceptibility in GABRA2.

Developmental–ecological models are useful for integrating risk factors across multiple contexts and conceptualizing mediational pathways for adolescent alcohol use, yet these comprehensive models are rarely tested. This study used a developmental–ecological framework to investigate the influence of neighborhood, family, and peer contexts on alcohol use in early adolescence (N = 387). Results from a multi-informant longitudinal cross-lagged mediation path model suggested that high levels of neighborhood disadvantage were associated with high levels of alcohol use 2 years later via an indirect pathway that included exposure to delinquent peers and adolescent delinquency. Results also indicated that adolescent involvement with delinquent peers and alcohol use led to decrements in parenting, rather than being consequences of poor parenting. Overall, the study supported hypothesized relationships among key microsystems thought to influence adolescent alcohol use, and thus findings underscore the utility of developmental–ecological models of alcohol use.

Purpose of Review This review summarizes theories and empirical work regarding socialization contexts contributing to substance use across marginalized adolescents. Future directions and recommendations to minimize the perpetuation of racial stereotypes are provided. Recent Findings Neighborhoods high in social cohesion may offset substance use risk. Promoting school connectedness via increased support from teachers and peers could reduce school-based discrimination and enhance feelings of belongingness. The influence of peers on substance use engagement largely differs across racial groups and level of acculturation. Family cultural values emphasizing respect, obedience, and collectivism offer protection from substance use. Summary Despite lower prevalence rates of adolescent substance use within racial/ethnic groups, rates of negative consequences due to substances are far greater compared to White adolescents. Transcultural factors (e.g., strong family ties), as well as culture-specific factors, should be leveraged to delay the onset of substance use and prevent negative sequelae resulting from substance use initiation.

ObjectivesTo advance understanding of how message framing can be used to maximise public support across different pricing policies for alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks/foods that prevent consumption of cancer-causing products.DesignWe designed a 3×4×3 randomised factorial experiment to test responses to messages with three pricing policies, four message frames and three products.SettingOnline survey panel (Qualtrics) in 2019.ParticipantsAdults (N=1850) from the UK and USA.InterventionsParticipants randomly viewed one of 36 separate messages that varied by pricing policy (increasing taxes, getting rid of price discounts, getting rid of low-cost products), four frames and product (alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks/foods).Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe assessed the relationship between the message characteristics and four dependent variables. Three were related to policy support: (1) increasing taxes on the product mentioned in the message, (2) getting rid of price discounts and special offers on the product mentioned in the message and (3) getting rid of low-cost versions of the product mentioned in the message. One was related to reactance, a psychological response to having one’s freedom limited.ResultsWe found no effect for pricing policy in the message. Frames regarding children and reducing cancer risk moderated some outcomes, showing promise for real-world use. We found differences in support by product and reactance with greatest support and least reactance for tobacco policies, less support and more reactance for alcohol policies, and the least support and most reactance for sugary drinks/foods policies.ConclusionsCancer prevention efforts using policy interventions can be informed by the message framing literature. Our results offer insights for cancer prevention advocacy efforts across the UK and USA and highlight that tax versus non-tax approaches to increasing the cost of cancer-causing products result in similar responses from consumers.

Several studies link adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to delinquency. Yet, developmental sequalae accounting for this association remain unclear, with previous research limited by cross-sectional research designs and investigations of singular mediating processes. To redress these shortcomings, this study examines the longitudinal association between ACEs and delinquency as mediated by both sleep problems and low self-control, two factors which past research implicates as potentially important for understanding how ACEs contribute to antisocial behavior. Data collected from 480 adolescents (71.3% boys; 86.3% White) and their parents participating in the Michigan Longitudinal Study was used to conduct a serial mediation analysis. The association between ACEs (prior to age 11) and delinquency in late adolescence was found to operate indirectly via sleep problems in early adolescence and low self-control in middle adolescence. Nonetheless, a direct association between ACEs and later delinquency remained. Pathways through which ACEs contribute to later delinquency are complex and multiply determined. Findings indicate that early behavioral interventions, including improving sleep and self-control, could reduce later delinquency. Still, more research is needed to identify additional avenues through which the ACEs–delinquency association unfolds across development.

While many studies have identified risk and protective factors of substance use (SU), few have assessed the reciprocal associations of child conduct problems (CP) and parenting practices and behaviors in the prediction of SU across development. A greater understanding of how these factors relate over time is needed to improve the timing of targeted prevention efforts. This study examined how child CP, parenting behaviors, and parents’ own antisocial behavior relate from preschool to adolescence and eventuate in SU. Participants included 706 youth (70.6% male; 89.7% white) enrolled in the Michigan Longitudinal Study. Data from waves 1 (ages 3–5), 2 (ages 6–8), 3 (ages 9–11), 4 (ages 12–14), and 5 (ages 15–17) were included. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) examined reciprocal associations between parenting practices, parents’ antisocial behavior, and child CP over time (waves 1–4) and how these factors contribute to adolescent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use (wave 5). At the within-person level, negative parenting and parents’ own antisocial behavior had a strong influence in late childhood/early adolescence. Only child CP emerged as a significant predictor of SU. Results highlight the importance of early intervention and the potential influence of parenting and child factors throughout development in the prevention of SU.

Adolescent e-cigarette use has been labeled an epidemic and alcohol use during this developmental period is associated with deleterious outcomes. Though specific temperamental dimensions have been shown to predict substance use, profiles of temperament have rarely been examined as predictors. This study examines dimensions and profiles of adolescent temperament as predictors of early use of e-cigarettes and alcohol. The sample was comprised of adolescent (62.07% female, 87.59% White, 82.76% Hispanic/Latinx)/caregiver dyads ( N = 146) who completed the first two timepoints ( M age at second timepoint = 16.16, SD = 0.68) of a longitudinal adolescent substance use study. Models showed parent-reported effortful control predicted protection against adolescent use of e-cigarettes, whereas adolescent report of effortful control predicted protection against alcohol use. Though dissimilar in temperamental pattern, three profiles emerged from both parent- and adolescent-report-based latent profile analysis models. Adolescents characterized by parents as displaying a Resilient profile had greater odds of e-cigarette use than those characterized by a Reserved profile, whereas adolescents who self-characterized as Mixed-type had markedly greater odds of alcohol use than those who self-characterized as Resilient . Utilization of temperamental profiles may aid in identification of particularly vulnerable subgroups of adolescents who may benefit from relevant preventative programing.

Background: Adolescent sleep problems are a public health concern, as roughly 60–70% of U.S. teens obtain less sleep than is recommended. Negative affect is a risk factor for adolescent sleep problems. However, factors explaining this association, to our knowledge, have not been explored in Hispanic/Latino(a) (H/L) adolescents. Acculturation gap conflict and low self-control may act as mediators linking negative affect to sleep problems. Methods: A sample of 223 H/L adolescents was assessed at three time points. We hypothesized that acculturation gap conflict and low self-control assessed at Wave 2 would mediate the association between negative affect at Wave 1 and sleep problems at Wave 3. Results: Negative affect predicted higher acculturation gap conflict, which in turn was associated with less self-control, and less self-control then predicted more sleep problems. Conclusions: These findings highlight acculturation gap conflict and low self-control as processes through which negative affect can impact later sleep problems in H/L adolescents. Elucidating modifiable factors impacting sleep health among H/L youth may inform intervention strategies. Targeting affect regulation, as well as improving parent-adolescent relationship quality within the context of acculturative differences, may help reduce sleep problems among this demographic group.

Childhood adversity can negatively impact development across various domains, including physical and mental health. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to aggression and substance use; however, developmental pathways to explain these associations are not well characterized. Understanding early precursors to later problem behavior and substance use can inform preventive interventions. The aim of the current study was to examine neurobiological pathways through which childhood adversity may lead to early adolescent problem behavior and substance use in late adolescence by testing two prospective models. Our first model found that early adolescent externalizing behavior mediates the association between childhood adversity and alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in late adolescence. Our second model found that activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during an inhibitory control task mediates the association between childhood adversity and early adolescent externalizing behavior, with lower ACC activation associated with higher levels of adversity and more externalizing behavior. Together these findings indicate that the path to substance use in late adolescence from childhood adversity may operate through lower functioning in the ACC related to inhibitory control and externalizing behavior. Early life stressors should be considered an integral component in the etiology and prevention of early and problematic substance use.