1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Externalizing behavior is a prime candidate behavior to mediate the relationship between PEMCS [prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking] and substance use. In humans, PEMCS is associated with higher rates of externalizing behavior in pre-schoolers and adolescents, as well as brain variations in young adults similar to those observed in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Furthermore, developmental-cascade theories suggest etiological connections between externalizing behavior and substance use. While this mediation pathway is clearly implicated, no studies have evaluated it formally. The main aim of this paper is to test this mediation hypothesis and examine if it replicates across two culturally distinct cohorts in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.» (p. 1719)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Les données de cette étude proviennent de l’étude sur les jeunes du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, réalisée auprès de 1000 jeunes de 2003 à 2012, et d’une étude réalisée en Finlande.

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«In two community-based samples of adolescents recruited in geographically distinct populations, we demonstrate that PEMCS was associated with a higher probability of experimenting with drugs during adolescence directly and indirectly via externalizing behavior and the number of peers reported as using drugs. […] We also observed a number of novel associations between the number of peers the adolescents report are experimenting with drugs and a number of relevant phenomena. In particular, we show that – in both samples – children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy reported more peers experimenting with drugs. Reporting more peers experimenting with drugs was predicted by higher externalizing behavior and predicted greater drug experimentation. Thus, the number of peers reported to be experimenting with drugs also acts as an additional indirect path from PEMCS to drug experimentation and as an indirect path linking externalizing behavior and drug experimentation.» (p. 1725)