1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The aim of this study is to «assess the links between EXT [externalizing traits] from early childhood to adolescence and adolescent alcohol and cannabis use.» (p. 888)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «tested the following hypotheses. First, if a liability to EXT is an enduring risk trait, [they] expected externalizing features to be fairly stable from early childhood to adolescence. Second, [they] hypothesized that high EXT from early childhood to adolescence would predict alcohol and cannabis use frequency at age 16 and an earlier age of alcohol use onset (AAO) controlling for FH+ [family history of substance use problems], sensation seeking, FF [family functioning], socioeconomic status, and prenatal substance exposure. Third, in line with previous research, [they] predicted a significant association between FH+, a reflection of both genetic risk and familial–environmental risk, and adolescent substance use. It has been proposed that this familial risk to substance use problems could reflect the transmission of a general liability that increases the risk of a broad spectrum of externalizing disorders in offspring rather than a specific disease (such as SUD [substance use disorder]). In this regard, [they] predicted that EXT during childhood and/or adolescence would mediate the association between parental substance use problems and offspring adolescent substance use. Finally, since sensation seeking has been proposed as being separable from other impulsive traits, [the authors] predicted that it would provide a unique and independent contribution to the model after controlling for EXT and other individual, familial and environmental variables.» (p. 889)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Participants were recruited from the first wave of the ongoing Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. At inception, this sample included 572 Francophone (90%) and Anglophone (10%) families from all socioeconomic backgrounds who were part of 1,000 randomly selected families from urban areas in the 1996 Quebec birth registry.» (p. 889) «[D]ata from 242 adolescents (128 males), aged 16 years, were available for this study.» (p. 889)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The present prospective birth cohort study found that […] high EXT scores early in life (ages 1 to 5) predict high scores later in childhood (ages 6 to 10) and adolescence (ages 11 to 16); […] early AAO was predicted by high EXT scores at ages 6 to 10 and 11 to 16, FH+, and high levels of sensation seeking at age 16; […] alcohol and cannabis use frequency at age 16 were predicted by high EXT scores at 11 to 16 years, FH+, and high sensation seeking; and […] the association between FH+ and all 3 measures of substance use (AAO, alcohol and cannabis use frequency at 16 years) was partially mediated by EXT scores at ages 11 to 16.» (p. 892) The authors «further demonstrated that the relationship between FH+ and adolescent substance use was partially mediated by EXT at ages 11 to 16. […] Those who persist with high levels of EXT throughout adolescence may carry stronger familial risks that predict later development of substance use problems.» (p. 893)