Laurie Chassin

The Natural History of Cigarette Smoking: Predicting Young-Adult Smoking Outcomes From Adolescent Smoking Patterns

Assessed the magnitude of risk that adolescent cigarette smoking carries for adult smoking. Using a longitudinal, prospective design, results indicate that even infrequent experimentation in adolescence significantly raises the risk for adult smoking and that regular (at least monthly) adolescent smoking raises the risk for adult smoking by a factor of 16 compared to nonsmoking adolescents. Relative risk was also increased by an early onset of smoking and by a stable, uninterrupted course from experimentation to regular smoking. Relative risk did not significantly vary by age or sex. The continuity of smoking behavior between adolescence and adulthood supports the importance of primary prevention programs directed at adolescent populations.

A longitudinal study of children of alcoholics : Predicting young adult substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression

This study tested the specificity of parent alcoholism effects on young adult alcohol and drug abuse/dependence, anxiety, and depression, and tested whether adolescent symptomatology and substance use mediated parent alcoholism effects. Participants were from a longitudinal study in which a target child was assessed in adolescence and young adulthood with structured interview measures (N = 454 families at Time 1). Results showed unique effects of parent alcoholism on young adult substance abuse/dependence diagnoses over and above the effects of other parental psychopathology. There was some evidence of parent alcoholism effects on young adult depression and of maternal alcoholism effects on young adult anxiety, although these were not found consistently across subsamples. Mediational models suggested that parent alcoholism effects could be partially (but not totally) explained by adolescent externalizing symptoms.

The relation between adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use: a longitudinal random coefficients model

Longitudinal latent growth models were used to examine the relation between changes in adolescent alcohol use and changes in peer alcohol use over a 3-year period in a community-based sample of 363 Hispanic and Caucasian adolescents. Both adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use were characterized by positive linear growth over time. Not only were changes in adolescent alcohol use closely related to changes in peer alcohol use, but the initial status on peer alcohol use was predictive of later increases in adolescent alcohol use and the initial status on adolescent alcohol use was predictive of later increases in peer alcohol use. These results are inconsistent with models positing solely unidirectional effects between adolescent alcohol use and peer alcohol use.

Changes in Peer and Parent Influence During Adolescence: Longitudinal Versus Cross-Sectional Perspectives on Smoking Initiation

The current study used a longitudinal design to investigate age-related changes in the magnitude of peer and parent influences on adolescent cigarette smoking. Both peer and parent influences were significant predictors of subsequent transitions to higher levels of smoking. However, unlike previous cross-sectional research, the magnitude of peer and parent influences did not significantly vary across the 6thto 1 lth-grade levels. Additional analyses were undertaken to explore possible explanations for the differences between results produced by cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. Implications for the study of transitions across the life span are discussed.

Trajectories of alcohol and drug use and dependence from adolescence to adulthood: the effects of familial alcoholism and personality.

This study describes trajectories of substance use and dependence from adolescence to adulthood. Identified consumption groups include heavy drinking/heavy drug use, moderate drinking/experimental drug use, and light drinking/rare drug use. Dependence groups include alcohol only, drug only, and comorbid groups. The heavy drinking/heavy drug use group was at risk for alcohol and drug dependence and persistent dependence and showed more familial alcoholism, negative emotionality, and low constraint. The moderate drinking/experimental drug use group was at risk for alcohol dependence but not comorbid or persistent dependence and showed less negative emotionality and higher constraint. Familial alcoholism raised risk for alcohol and drug use and dependence in part because children from alcoholic families were more impulsive and lower in agreeableness.

Theory and Research on Desistance from Antisocial Activity among Serious Adolescent Offenders

Improving juvenile court decision making requires information about how serious adolescent offenders desist from antisocial activity. A systematic research agenda on this topic requires consideration of several processes, including normative development in late adolescence, what constitutes desistance, and the factors likely to promote the end of involvement in antisocial behavior and successful adjustment in early adulthood. This article presents an overview of the major points to consider in pursuing this research agenda.

Operational Lessons from the Pathways to Desistance Project

Implementing a large, longitudinal study of any sample is a major undertaking. The challenges are compounded when the study involves multiple sites and a high-risk sample. This article outlines the methodology for the Pathways to Desistance study, a multisite, longitudinal study of serious juvenile offenders, and discusses the key operational decisions with the greatest impact on the study design.

PROSPECTIVE PREDICTORS OF QUIT ATTEMPTS AND SMOKING CESSATION IN YOUNG ADULTS

This study examined prospective predictors of attempts to quit smoking and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit (n = 700), using a long-term longitudinal study of the natural history of cigarette smoking in a midwestern community sample. Participants, originally surveyed in 6th-12th grade (1980-1983), were followed up in 1987 and 1994. Results showed that amount of smoking, gender, education, health beliefs about smoking, value on healthy lifestyle, motives for smoking, reasons for quitting, and occupancy of young adult social roles were significant predictors of cessation. However, there were different predictors of attempts to quit and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit. From a public health perspective, both predictors of quit attempts and predictors of successful quitting among attempters are useful targets for intervention.

Four pathways to young-adult smoking status: adolescent social-psychological antecedents in a midwestern community sample.

Evaluated the ability of social-psychological factors, measured in adolescence, to predict young-adult smoking outcomes. Results showed substantial continuity in the antecedents of adolescent and young-adult smoking but important discontinuities as well. Beliefs in the negative social consequences of smoking and beliefs about academic success and independence were important to adolescent but not to adult smoking. Conversely, beliefs in the negative health consequences of smoking were more important to adult smoking than to adolescent smoking. Results also showed an appreciable amount of smoking onset after the high school years, as well as an appreciable amount of adolescent smoking that did not persist into young adulthood. Antecedents of late-onset smoking and of nonpersistent smoking are described.

Prospective differential prediction of adolescent alcohol use and problem use: examining the mechanisms of effect

This prospective study tested the assertion that psychopathology would predict both adolescent alcohol use and problem use, whereas socialization factors would predict only use, and explored mechanisms by which predictors led to problem use in a community sample of families (N = 216). Externalizing symptoms, parental alcoholism, peer influences, and parental support were indirectly related to negative consequences through their effects on use level. Externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, peer influences, and parental approval of use directly predicted consequences, controlling for the indirect effects through use level. Internalizing pathology potentiated the relation between consumption and consequences, whereas parental support and control mitigated this relation. Collectively, findings provided mixed support for the assertion that psychopathology would predict both use and problem use, whereas socialization factors would predict only use.