Richard A. Miech

Low socioeconomic status and mental disorders : A longitudinal study of selection and causation during young adulthood

This article examines low socioeconomic staus (SES) as both a cause and a consequence of mental illnesses by investigating the mutual influence of mental disorders and educational attainment, a core element of SES. The analyses are based on a longitudinal panel design and focus on four disorders: anxiety, depression, antisocial disorder, and attention deficit disorder. The article shows that each disorder has a unique relationship with SES, highlighting the need for greater consideration of antisocial disorders in the status attainment process and for further theoretical development in the sociology of mental disorders to account for disorder‐specific relations with SES.

Socioeconomic status and depression over the life course

Numerous studies document lower levels of depression among adults with higher education, but little is known about the way in which the association varies over the life course. Do depression levels diverge or converge across educational strata with age? This study investigates how the association between education and depression changes with age and tests the extent to which these changes are accountedfor by physical health problems, widowed status, employment status, coping resources, household income, and financial strain. Data for this investigation come from the Work, Family, and Well-Being Study, 1990, a nationally representative sample of 2,031 adults aged 18 to 90 interviewed by telephone. Findings indicate that the association between depression and education strengthens with increasing age. Physical health problems among adults with lower education account for most of the diverging gap in depression. These results show that an integration of insights from the stress paradigm and the life course perspective can lead to a fuller understanding of socioeconomic inequality and its influence on psychologicalfunctioning.

Incidence of AD may decline in the early 90s for men, later for women The Cache County study

Objectives: To characterize the incidence of AD among the elderly population of Cache County, UT, noted for its longevity and high response rates; to explore sex differences; and to examine whether AD incidence plateaus or declines in extreme old age. Methods: Using a multistage screening process in 1998 and 1999, and reexamining 122 individuals who had been identified 3 years earlier as cognitively compromised but not demented, the authors found 185 individuals with incident dementia (123 with AD) among 3,308 participants who contributed 10,541 person-years of observation. Adjusting for nonresponse and screening sensitivity, the authors estimated the incidence of dementia and of AD for men and women in 3-year age intervals. Multivariate discrete time survival analysis was used to examine influences of age, sex, education, and genotype at APOE, as well as interactions of these factors. Results: The incidence of both dementia and AD increased almost exponentially until ages 85 to 90, but appeared to decline after age 93 for men and 97 for women. A statistical interaction between age and the presence of two APOE-ε4 alleles indicated acceleration in onset of AD with this genotype; the interaction of age and one ε4 suggested more modest acceleration. A statistical interaction of sex and age indicated greater incidence of AD in women than in men after age 85. Conclusions: The incidence of AD in the Cache County population increased with advancing age, but then peaked and declined among the extremely old. The presence of APOE-ε4 alleles accelerated onset of AD, but did not appreciably alter lifetime incidence apparent over a span of 100 years.

Personality and Career Success: Concurrent and Longitudinal Relations

The present research addresses the dynamic transaction between extrinsic (occupational prestige, income) and intrinsic (job satisfaction) career success and the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) of personality. Participants (N = 731) completed a comprehensive measure of personality and reported their job title, annual income and job satisfaction; a subset of these participants (n = 302) provided the same information approximately 10 years later. Measured concurrently, emotionally stable and conscientious participants reported higher incomes and job satisfaction. Longitudinal analyses revealed that, among younger participants, higher income at baseline predicted decreases in Neuroticism and baseline Extraversion predicted increases in income across the 10 years. Results suggest that the mutual influence of career success and personality is limited to income and occurs early in the career. Copyright

Association Between Initial Use of e-Cigarettes and Subsequent Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance The public health implications of e-cigarettes depend, in part, on whether e-cigarette use affects the risk of cigarette smoking. Objective To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies that assessed initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking. Data Sources PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, the 2016 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 22nd Annual Meeting abstracts, the 2016 Society of Behavioral Medicine 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions abstracts, and the 2016 National Institutes of Health Tobacco Regulatory Science Program Conference were searched between February 7 and February 17, 2017. The search included indexed terms and text words to capture concepts associated with e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes in articles published from database inception to the date of the search. Study Selection Longitudinal studies reporting odds ratios for cigarette smoking initiation associated with ever use of e-cigarettes or past 30-day cigarette smoking associated with past 30-day e-cigarette use. Searches yielded 6959 unique studies, of which 9 met inclusion criteria (comprising 17 389 adolescents and young adults). Data Extraction and Synthesis Study quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool, respectively. Data and estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Main Outcomes and Measures Among baseline never cigarette smokers, cigarette smoking initiation between baseline and follow-up. Among baseline non–past 30-day cigarette smokers who were past 30-day e-cigarette users, past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up. Results Among 17 389 adolescents and young adults, the ages ranged between 14 and 30 years at baseline, and 56.0% were female. The pooled probabilities of cigarette smoking initiation were 30.4% for baseline ever e-cigarette users and 7.9% for baseline never e-cigarette users. The pooled probabilities of past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up were 21.5% for baseline past 30-day e-cigarette users and 4.6% for baseline non–past 30-day e-cigarette users. Adjusting for known demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral risk factors for cigarette smoking, the pooled odds ratio for subsequent cigarette smoking initiation was 3.62 (95% CI, 2.42-5.41) for ever vs never e-cigarette users, and the pooled odds ratio for past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up was 4.28 (95% CI, 2.52-7.27) for past 30-day e-cigarette vs non–past 30-day e-cigarette users at baseline. A moderate level of heterogeneity was observed among studies (I2 = 60.1%). Conclusions and Relevance e-Cigarette use was associated with greater risk for subsequent cigarette smoking initiation and past 30-day cigarette smoking. Strong e-cigarette regulation could potentially curb use among youth and possibly limit the future population-level burden of cigarette smoking.

The Enduring Association between Education and Mortality The Role of Widening and Narrowing Disparities

This article examines how educational disparities in mortality emerge, grow, decline, and disappear across causes of death in the United States, and how these changes contribute to the enduring association between education and mortality over time. Focusing on adults age 40 to 64 years, we first examine the extent to which educational disparities in mortality persisted from 1989 to 2007. We then test the fundamental cause prediction that educational disparities in mortality persist, in part, by shifting to new health outcomes over time. We focus on the period from 1999 to 2007, when all causes of death were coded to the same classification system. Results indicate (1) substantial widening and narrowing of educational disparities in mortality across causes of death, (2) almost all causes of death with increasing mortality rates also had widening educational disparities, and (3) the total educational disparity in mortality would be about 25 percent smaller today if not for newly emergent and growing educational disparities since 1999. These results point to the theoretical and policy importance of identifying social forces that cause health disparities to widen over time.

History and Agency in Men's Lives: Pathways to Achievement in Cohort Perspective

People make planful decisions about school and work, but structures of opportunity both constrain and enable pathways to achievement. What is the role of planful competence in times of social change? Drawing on data from the Stanford-Terman sample, the authors examine the role of history and adolescent planfulness in the attainment of men who were born between 1904 and 1917. Men born between 1904 and 1910 avoided the labor markets of the Great Depression by extending their higher education; adolescent planfulness was of little consequence for their adult educational attainment, since they stayed in school irrespective of their planfulness. However, men born between 1911 and 1917 faced viable options between school and work, especially in the postwar economy; for these men, adolescent planfulness was a strong, positive predictor of educational attainment. These findings are compared with insights from the 1962 Occupational Changes in a Generation data set, a nationally representative sample.

Prescription Opioids in Adolescence and Future Opioid Misuse

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Legitimate opioid use is associated with an increased risk of long-term opioid use and possibly misuse in adults. The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of future opioid misuse among adolescents who have not yet graduated from high school. METHODS: Prospective, panel data come from the Monitoring the Future study. The analysis uses a nationally representative sample of 6220 individuals surveyed in school in 12th grade and then followed up through age 23. Analyses are stratified by predicted future opioid misuse as measured in 12th grade on the basis of known risk factors. The main outcome is nonmedical use of a prescription opioid at ages 19 to 23. Predictors include use of a legitimate prescription by 12th grade, as well as baseline history of drug use and baseline attitudes toward illegal drug use. RESULTS: Legitimate opioid use before high school graduation is independently associated with a 33% increase in the risk of future opioid misuse after high school. This association is concentrated among individuals who have little to no history of drug use and, as well, strong disapproval of illegal drug use at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Use of prescribed opioids before the 12th grade is independently associated with future opioid misuse among patients with little drug experience and who disapprove of illegal drug use. Clinic-based education and prevention efforts have substantial potential to reduce future opioid misuse among these individuals, who begin opioid use with strong attitudes against illegal drug use.

Trends in use of marijuana and attitudes toward marijuana among youth before and after decriminalization: the case of California 2007-2013

BACKGROUND This analysis examines decriminalization as a risk factor for future increases in youth marijuana acceptance and use. Specifically, we examine marijuana-related behaviors and attitudes of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in California as compared to other U.S. states during the years before and after California passed legislation in 2010 to decriminalize marijuana. METHODS Data come from Monitoring the Future, an annual, nationally representative survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. RESULTS In 2012 and afterwards California 12th graders as compared to their peers in other states became (a) 25% more likely to have used marijuana in the past 30 days, (b) 20% less likely to perceive regular marijuana use as a great health risk, (c) 20% less likely to strongly disapprove of regular marijuana use, and (d) about 60% more likely to expect to be using marijuana five years in the future. Analysis of 10th graders raises the possibility that the findings among 12th graders may reflect a cohort effect that was set into place two years earlier. CONCLUSION These results provide empirical evidence to support concerns that decriminalization may be a risk factor for future increases in youth marijuana use and acceptance.

A life course model of self-rated health through adolescence and young adulthood

This paper proposes and tests a life course model of self-rated health (SRH) extending from late childhood to young adulthood, drawing on three waves of panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Very little research has examined SRH during the early decades, or whether and how these self-assessments reflect experiences in the family of origin. Background characteristics (parental education, income, and family structure), parental health conditions (asthma, diabetes, obesity, migraines), and early health challenges (physical abuse, presence of a disability, and parental alcoholism and smoking) predict SRH from adolescence to young adulthood. These experiences in the family-of-origin are substantially mediated by the young persons health and health behaviors (as indicated by obesity, depression, smoking, drinking, and inactivity), although direct effects remain (especially for early health challenges). Associations between SRH and these mediators (especially obesity) strengthen with age. In turn, efforts to promote healthy behaviors in young adulthood, after the completion of secondary school, may be especially strategic in the promotion of health in later adulthood.