Background

Dual systems theories suggest that greater imbalance between higher reward sensitivity and lower cognitive control across adolescence conveys risk for behaviors such as heavy episodic drinking (HED). Prior research demonstrated that psychological analogues of these systems, sensation seeking and premeditation, change from childhood through emerging adulthood, and each has been independently linked with HED. However, few studies have assessed whether change over time in these developing analogues is prospectively associated with HED. Moreover, we know of no research that has shown whether within-person differences between higher sensation seeking and relatively lower premeditation across the adolescent period predict HED in emerging adulthood.

Methods

Prospective data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence study (n = 715) were used to examine the association of sensation seeking and premeditation with HED among adolescents ages 16 to 20 years. We used novel applications of latent difference score modeling and growth curve analysis to test whether increasing sensation seeking, premeditation, and their imbalance over time are associated with HED across the study period, and whether these associations differed by sex.

Results

Whereas premeditation increased linearly from adolescence through emerging adulthood across sexes, males reported growth and females reported decline in sensation seeking. Sensation seeking in adolescence (and not premeditation) was associated with higher levels of HED by emerging adulthood. Importantly, greater imbalance between sensation seeking and premeditation was associated with higher levels of HED by emerging adulthood though we note that variability capturing this imbalance correlated highly (r = 0.86) with baseline levels of sensation seeking.

Conclusions

Developmental imbalance between higher sensation seeking and lower premeditation in late adolescence may be a risk factor for greater HED in emerging adulthood.

Objective

This study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drinking and nicotine use through June of 2021 in a community-based sample of young adults.

Method

Data were from 348 individuals (49% female) enrolled in a long-term longitudinal study with an accelerated longitudinal design: the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) Study. Individuals completed pre-pandemic assessments biannually from 2016 to early 2020, then completed up to three web-based, during-pandemic surveys in June 2020, December 2020, and June 2021. Assessments when individuals were 18.8-22.4 years old (N = 1,458) were used to compare drinking and nicotine use pre-pandemic vs. at each of the three during-pandemic timepoints, adjusting for the age-related increases expected over time.

Results

Compared to pre-pandemic, participants were less likely to report past-month drinking in June or December 2020, but there was an increase in drinking days among drinkers in June 2020. By June 2021, both the prevalence of past-month drinking and number of drinking days among drinks were similar to pre-pandemic levels. On average, there were no statistically significant differences between pre-pandemic and during-pandemic time points for binge drinking, typical drinking quantity, or nicotine use. Young adults who reported an adverse financial impact of the pandemic showed increased nicotine use while their peers showed stable or decreased nicotine use.

Conclusion

Initial effects of the pandemic on alcohol use faded by June 2021, and on average there was little effect of the pandemic on nicotine use.

Early adolescent drinking onset is linked to myriad negative consequences. Using the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) baseline to year 8 data, this study (1) leveraged best subsets selection and Cox Proportional Hazards regressions to identify the most robust predictors of adolescent first and regular drinking onset, and (2) examined the clinical utility of drinking onset in forecasting later binge drinking and withdrawal effects. Baseline predictors included youth psychodevelopmental characteristics, cognition, brain structure, family, peer, and neighborhood domains. Participants (N=538) were alcohol-naïve at baseline. The strongest predictors of first and regular drinking onset were positive alcohol expectancies (Hazard Ratios [HRs]=1.67-1.87), easy home alcohol access (HRs=1.62-1.67), more parental solicitation (e.g., inquiring about activities; HRs=1.72-1.76), and less parental control and knowledge (HRs=.72-.73). Robust linear regressions showed earlier first and regular drinking onset predicted earlier transition into binge and regular binge drinking (βs=0.57-0.95). Zero-inflated Poisson regressions revealed that delayed first and regular drinking increased the likelihood (Incidence Rate Ratios [IRR]=1.62 and IRR=1.29, respectively) of never experiencing withdrawal. Findings identified behavioral and environmental factors predicting temporal paths to youthful drinking, dissociated first from regular drinking initiation, and revealed adverse sequelae of younger drinking initiation, supporting efforts to delay drinking onset.