The influence of economic hardship on emerging adult binge drinking: Testing the family stress model over time

The current study examined pathways of the Family Stress Model (FSM) on adolescent binge drinking into emerging adulthood. This study included 359 focal youth and their parents who participated from early adolescence at age 13 to emerging adulthood at age 29. A prospective, longitudinal design was used to include parent report of economic hardship, economic pressure, emotional distress, and harsh couple interaction, as well as observer ratings of harsh parenting. Adolescent report of binge drinking in late adolescence and emerging adulthood were used. Results support pathways of the FSM where economic hardship led to economic pressure, which was associated with emotional distress. This emotional distress was further associated with conflict in the marital relationship, which, in turn was related to harsh parenting behaviors toward the adolescent. Harsh parenting was related to binge drinking in late adolescence, which was associated with subsequent binge drinking in emerging adulthood. This study extends research by examining late adolescent binge drinking into adulthood by way of economic pressure and family processes as hypothesized by the FSM. Results suggest that economic hardship has a lasting effect on family processes which influence later drinking behaviors. Thus, this study gives support to the notion that parents continue to have an impact on their youths’ decision to engage in binge drinking, even in the adulthood years

Adolescent Predictors of Binge Drinking in Adulthood: The Association with Psychiatric Disorders in Emerging Adulthood

This study investigates harsh parenting, parental drunkenness, deviant peers, adolescent alcohol use, academic performance, and emotional distress as experienced in adolescence on criteria for behavioral, substance use, affective, or anxiety disorders by age 23. This study also sought to understand how psychiatric disorders were associated with later binge drinking in adulthood (n = 501). Data come from a prospective 28-year longitudinal study of rural Midwestern families. Predictors at Time 1 were assessed in adolescence (15, 16, and 18 years old). Lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders was assessed in emerging adulthood (age 23), and binge drinking was self-reported at Time 3 (ages 27, 29, and 31). Results obtained from structure equation modeling and logistic regression using Mplus version 8 indicated deviant peers and low grade point average increased the likelihood of having met criteria for a behavioral disorder by age 23, while deviant peers and adolescent alcohol use increased the likelihood of having met criteria for a substance use disorder. Deviant peers and emotional distress in adolescence increased the likelihood for an affective disorder, while only emotional distress increased the likelihood for an anxiety disorder. Substance use disorder was associated with later binge drinking at ages 27-31. This study offers unique insight into how family, peer, and individual risk factors influence specific psychiatric disorders by age 23. Multiple informants provide a more complex understanding of how these risk factors influence later psychiatric diagnoses, as well as how externalizing disorders are associated with later binge drinking in adulthood

The Influence of Economic Pressure on Emerging Adult Binge Drinking: Testing the Family Stress Model over Time

The Family Stress Model proposes that disrupted family processes may help explain the association between economic adversity and poor child developmental outcomes. In this study, the Family Stress Model was tested across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 451 rural White youth who participated with their parents from age 13–23 (52% female). The data were analyzed at five developmental time periods with separate pathways for mothers and fathers. The findings reveal for both parents that economic pressure at time 1 (age 13) led to parental emotional distress which was related to harsh couple interaction at time 2 (ages 14 and 15). This marital conflict was related to harsh parenting toward the adolescent (time 2), which was then directly associated with higher levels of offspring drinking when youth were in middle adolescence (age 16) at time 3. Alcohol use in middle adolescence was associated with binge drinking in late adolescence (age 18, time 4) into emerging adulthood (age 23, time 5). Drinking behaviors did not differ for boys and girls. The current results show that economic adversity has an effect on family processes which influence offspring binge drinking patterns in later adolescence that continue into emerging adulthood.This accepted article is published as Diggs, O.N., Neppl, T.K. The Influence of Economic Pressure on Emerging Adult Binge Drinking: Testing the Family Stress Model over Time. J Youth Adolescence 47, 2481–2495 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0923-5. Posted with permission

The intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting, substance use, and emotional distress: Impact on the third-generation child.

The current study evaluated the intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting, substance use, and emotional distress across generations and the association with child aggression. The study included 218 Generation 1 (G1) mothers and fathers, their adolescent (Generation 2; G2) who participated from middle adolescence through adulthood, and the 3rd-generation (G3) child between ages 3–5 years and 6–10 years. G1 behavior was examined when G2 was 16 and 18 years old; G2 alcohol problems and marijuana use were assessed when G2 was 19 and 21 years old. G2 emotional distress and harsh parenting were examined when the G3 child was between 3 and 5 years old. Finally, G3 aggression was assessed between 6 and 10 years old. Results showed continuity of G1 behavior when G2 was in adolescence to G2 behavior in adulthood. G1 alcohol problems and G1 harsh parenting were both associated with G3 aggression through G2 alcohol problems, G2 emotional distress, and G2 harsh parenting. Results suggest that G1 problem behavior as experienced by G2 adolescents in the family of origin plays an important role in G2 alcohol problems in emerging adulthood, which leads to G2 emotional distress and G2 harsh parenting in adulthood, which is related to G3 aggression in the early elementary school years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)This accepted article is published as Neppl, T. K., Diggs, O. N., & Cleveland, M. J. (2020). The intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting, substance use, and emotional distress: Impact on the third-generation child. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34(8), 852–863. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000551. Posted with permission

Improving Sexual Health Education by Examining Protective Factors against Sexual Assault

This study examined the content, timing, and perceived effectiveness of college student’s previous preschool-12th grade sexual health education and evaluated differences among those who had experienced sexual assault. 964 Midwestern university students completed an online survey recalling their prior sexual health education curriculum. First sexual assaults among students increased between eighth and ninth grade but occurred most frequently in college. Students who experienced sexual assault were also more likely to rate their programming as less effective than those in the non-assault category. Those who had experienced sexual assault reported lower rates of being taught about healthy relationships, good touch versus bad touch, communication during sexual encounters, and the definition of sexual assault. Additionally, receiving information about healthy relationships was associated with the nonoccurrence of sexual assault. Results suggest these four topics, especially healthy relationships, should be taught before the eighth grade to proactively establish protective factors against sexual assault which may be utilized into students’ young adulthood.This article is published as 4. Robinson, M.**, Diggs, O. N.**, & Neppl, T. K. (2022). Improving sexual health education: An examination of how curriculum differs for students who have experienced sexual assault. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas. 95(5);193-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2022.2098223

Adolescent predictors of psychiatric disorders in adulthood: The role of emotional distress and problem drinking in emerging adulthood

The current study evaluated risk factors in adolescence on problem drinking and emotional distress in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, and meeting criteria for diagnosed disorders in adulthood. The study included 501 parents and their adolescent who participated from middle adolescence to adulthood. Risk factors in middle adolescence (age 18) included parent alcohol use, adolescent alcohol use, and parent and adolescent emotional distress. In late adolescence (age 18), binge drinking and emotional distress were assessed, and in emerging adulthood (age 25), alcohol problems and emotional distress were examined. Meeting criteria for substance use, behavioral, affective, or anxiety disorders were examined between the ages of 26 and 31. Results showed parent alcohol use predicted substance use disorder through late adolescent binge drinking and emerging adulthood alcohol problems. Behavioral disorders were indirectly predicted by adolescent and emerging adult emotional distress. Affective disorders were indirectly predicted by parent emotional distress through adolescent emotional distress. Finally, anxiety disorders were predicted by parent alcohol use via adolescent drinking; parent emotional distress via adolescent emotional distress, and through adolescent alcohol use and emotional distress. Results provided support for the intergenerational transmission of problem drinking and emotional distress on meeting criteria for diagnosed psychiatric disorders in adulthood.This article is published as Neppl, T., Diggs, O., Neppl, A., & Denburg, N. (2023). Adolescent predictors of psychiatric disorders in adulthood: The role of emotional distress and problem drinking in emerging adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 1-11. doi:10.1017/S0954579423000081. Posted with permission. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Copyright. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press<br

The Association between Household Food Insecurity and Body Mass Index: A Prospective Growth Curve Analysis

Objective To examine the association between food insecurity and body mass index (BMI) from early adolescence to adulthood. Study design Growth curve analyses were performed. Sex differences were examined by conducting the analyses separately by sex. Ten data points were examined over a 16-year period from age 15 to 31 years. Data were obtained from the Family Transitions Project, a longitudinal study of 559 adolescents and their families that was initiated in 1989 in the Midwest. Primarily rural, non-Hispanic whites were selected based on the economic farm crisis. We examined participants from adolescence to adulthood from 1991 through 2007. Measures included a 2-item food insecurity construct and BMI as indicated by self-reported height and weight from adolescence through middle adulthood. These associations were analyzed using prospective growth curve modeling. Results Our analyses indicated a general increase in BMI with age, whereas food insecurity declined over time. Higher levels of food insecurity at age 15 years led to a more rapid increase in BMI. Finally, a positive relationship was found between the changes in food insecurity and BMI over time. These associations held only for females. Conclusion Our results argue for increasing access to food during key developmental periods such as early adolescence, which could help reduce the long-term implications for health, particularly BMI in girls.This accepted manuscript is of an article that is published as Lohman, B.J., Neppl, T.K., Lee, Y., Diggs, O.N., Russell, D. The Association between Household Food Insecurity and Body Mass Index: A Prospective Growth Curve Analysis. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.05.052. Posted with permission. </p

Pathways of the family stress model in midlife on physical health in later adulthood.

The current study examined economic adversity and physical health outcomes in line with the family stress model (FSM) for husbands and wives in enduring marriages. Data came from 243 husbands and wives who participated from early middle to later adulthood. Assessments included observational and self-report measures. Economic hardship and economic pressure were assessed in early middle adulthood. Feelings of hostility and observed harsh couple interaction were examined in middle adulthood, and physical impairment was assessed in later adulthood. Results indicated that economic hardship related to economic pressure. In addition, economic pressure indirectly related to physical impairment via hostility and harsh couple interaction. For husbands, economic pressure was also directly associated with their own physical impairment in later adulthood. Finally, economic pressure was indirectly associated with husband to wife harsh couple interaction through wife hostility. Similarly, economic pressure was indirectly associated with wife to husband harsh couple interaction through husband hostility. Results suggest that economic adversity as experienced in early middle adulthood has long-term health consequences into later adulthood.This accepted article is published as Neppl, T. K., Diggs, O. N., Wickrama, K. A. S., & Walker O'Neal, C. (2021). Pathways of the family stress model in midlife on physical health in later adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 35(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000714. Posted with permission