Personality and learning predictors of adolescent alcohol consumption trajectories

Sarah J. Peterson, Heather A. Davis, Gregory T. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

In a sample of 1,897 youth studied across the last year of elementary school to the second year of high school, we identified five trajectories of drinking frequency. Three of those (nondrinkers, middle onset, and late onset drinkers) were not drinking in elementary school; two others (moderate drinkers and early high drinkers) were. Among originally nondrinking groups, multiple impulsigenic traits and the acquired preparedness risk model predicted membership in groups that subsequently began drinking. Membership in trajectory groups characterized by drinking during this age period was associated with (a) the experience of alcohol-related problems and (b) further increases in both impulsigenic traits and alcohol expectancies. Youth vary considerably in the development of drinking behavior across the transitions from elementary to high school. Harms associated with early drinking involve both problems from drinking and increases in high-risk personality traits.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)482-495
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Abnormal Psychology
Volume127
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2018

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge research support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under award R01 AA016166 to Gregory T. Smith. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Funding Information:
This article was published Online First May 31, 2018. Sarah J. Peterson, Heather A. Davis, and Gregory T. Smith, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Kentucky. The authors gratefully acknowledge research support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under award R01 AA016166 to Gregory T. Smith. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Psychological Association.

Keywords

  • Drinking
  • Early adolescence
  • Longitudinal
  • Risk
  • Trajectory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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