CONCORDANCE OF ADOLESCENT REPORTS OF FRIEND PROBLEM BEHAVIORS AS PREDICTED BY QUALITY OF RELATIONSHIP AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

Adolescent alcohol use is strongly associated with many negative health outcomes and can increase risk for drinking problems later in life. The strongest predictor of adolescent alcohol use is affiliation with friends who also drink, use other drugs, or exhibit other problem behaviors (e.g., stealing, fighting). Currently, many studies examine friend problem behavior by asking adolescents to provide reports of their friends' behaviors; however, some research suggests that these reports may be inaccurate. While it is difficult to determine accuracy of report, report concordance is easily measured. No studies have examined variables that might predict report concordance, such as characteristics of the relationship (e.g. relationship quality; time spent with friends). This study compared adolescents' perceptions of their close friend's smoking, drinking, and deviant behavior to self-reports collected directly from the friends. Degree of association between perception and friend report was studied as a function of several relationship characteristics and demographic variables (e.g. age, gender) hypothesized to predict concordance. Results indicated that the statistically significant concordance between adolescent perception and friend self-report of smoking and drinking behavior was driven largely by agreement concerning the absence of behavior; adolescents were not sensitive in their perceptions of their friends' positive history of substance use. Concordance between adolescent perceptions and friend self-report of deviance was statistically significant but modest in magnitude, with most targets under-reporting their friend's involvement in deviant behaviors. Few variables predicted report concordance for the three outcome variables (smoking, drinking, and deviance), and those that did (age, adolescent's own problem behavior, negative relationship quality, and amount of time spent with friends) accounted for only a small amount of the variance. Implications for the assessment of friend influence on adolescent problem behavior are discussed

Motorsports Involvement Among Adolescents and Young Adults with Childhood ADHD

Though children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for impulsive, health-endangering behavior, few studies have examined non-substance use-related risk-taking behaviors. This study examined whether adolescents and young adults with ADHD histories were more likely than those without ADHD histories to report frequent engagement in motorsports, a collection of risky driving-related activities associated with elevated rates of physical injury. Path analyses tested whether persistent impulsivity, comorbid conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder (CD/ASP), and heavy alcohol use mediated this association. Analyses also explored whether frequent motorsporting was associated with unsafe and alcohol-influenced driving

Parents’ Readiness to Change Affects BMI Reduction Outcomes in Adolescents with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Evidence supports the importance of parental involvement for youth’s ability to manage weight. This study utilized the stages of change (SOC) model to assess readiness to change weight control behaviors as well as the predictive value of SOC in determining BMI outcomes in forty adolescent-parent dyads (mean adolescent age = 15 ± 1.84 (13–20), BMI = 37 ± 8.60; 70% white) participating in a weight management intervention for adolescent females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Adolescents and parents completed a questionnaire assessing their SOC for the following four weight control domains: increasing dietary portion control, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, decreasing dietary fat, and increasing usual physical activity. Linear regression analyses indicated that adolescent change in total SOC from baseline to treatment completion was not predictive of adolescent change in BMI from baseline to treatment completion. However, parent change in total SOC from baseline to treatment completion was predictive of adolescent change in BMI, (t(24) = 2.15, p=0.043). Findings support future research which carefully assesses adolescent and parent SOC and potentially develops interventions targeting adolescent and parental readiness to adopt healthy lifestyle goals

Cigarette Smoking Progression Among Young Adults Diagnosed With ADHD in Childhood: A 16-year Longitudinal Study of Children With and Without ADHD.

INTRODUCTION:Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for smoking cigarettes, but there is little longitudinal research on the array of smoking characteristics known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcomes into adulthood. These variables were studied into early adulthood in a multisite sample diagnosed with ADHD combined type at ages 7-9.9 and followed prospectively alongside an age- and sex-matched local normative comparison group (LNCG). METHODS:Cigarette smoking quantity, quit attempts, dependence, and other characteristics were assessed in the longitudinal Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) eight times to a mean age of 24.9 years: ADHD n = 469; LNCG n = 240. RESULTS:In adulthood, the ADHD group had higher rates of daily cigarette smoking, one or more quit attempts, shorter time to first cigarette of the day, and more severe withdrawal than the LNCG. The ADHD group did not appear to have better smoking cessation rates despite a higher proportion quitting at least once. Smoking quantity and nicotine dependence did not differ between groups. The ADHD group reported younger daily smoking onset and faster progression from smoking initiation to daily smoking across assessments. Finally, ADHD symptom severity in later adolescence and adulthood was associated with higher risk for daily smoking across assessments in the ADHD sample. CONCLUSIONS:This study shows that ADHD-related smoking risk begins at a young age, progresses rapidly, and becomes resistant to cessation attempts by adulthood. Prevention efforts should acknowledge the speed of uptake; treatments should target the higher relapse risk in this vulnerable population. IMPLICATIONS:Although childhood ADHD predicts later smoking, longitudinal studies of this population have yet to fully characterize smoking behaviors into adulthood that are known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcome. The current study demonstrates earlier and faster progression to daily smoking among those with a childhood ADHD diagnosis, as well as greater risk for failed quit attempts. Prevention efforts should address speed of smoking uptake, while treatments are needed that address smoking relapse risk. The current study also demonstrates ADHD symptom severity over development increases daily smoking risk, implicating the need for continuous ADHD symptom management

Developmental progression to early adult binge drinking and marijuana use from worsening versus stable trajectories of adolescent attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and delinquency

AimsTo examine the association between developmental trajectories of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and delinquency through childhood and adolescence (ages 8-16 years) and subsequent binge drinking and marijuana use in early adulthood (age 21 years).DesignProspective naturalistic follow-up of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) previously enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Treatment-phase assessments occurred at 3, 9 and 14 months after randomization; follow-up assessments occurred at 24 months, 36 months, and 6, 8 and 12 years after randomization.SettingSecondary analysis of data from the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA), a multi-site RCT comparing the effects of careful medication management, intensive behavior therapy, their combination, and referral to usual community care.ParticipantsA total of 579 children with DSM-IV ADHD combined type, aged 7.0 and 9.9 years at baseline (mean = 8.5, SD = 0.80).MeasurementsRatings of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and delinquency were collected from multiple informants at baseline and through the 8-year follow-up. Self-reports of binge drinking and marijuana use were collected at the 12-year follow-up (mean age 21 years).FindingsTrajectories of worsening inattention symptoms and delinquency (and less apparent improvement in hyperactivity-impulsivity) were associated with higher rates of early adult binge drinking and marijuana use, compared with trajectories of stable or improving symptoms and delinquency (of 24 comparisons, all P-values <0.05), even when symptom levels in stable trajectories were high.ConclusionsWorsening inattention symptoms and delinquency during adolescence are were associated with higher levels of early adult substance use; this pattern may reflect a developmental course of vulnerability to elevated substance use in early adulthood

Corrigendum: Cigarette smoking progression among young adults diagnosed with ADHD in Childhood: A 16-year longitudinal study of children with and without ADHD (Nicotine and Tobacco Research (2018) DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nty045)

Corrections have been made throughout the article to clarify how daily smoking during the 12- through 16-year assessments was defined in the original report. In this corrigendum, daily smoking during these assessments was defined by participant's responding either (a) once a day or more in response to In the past year, how often did you smoke cigarettes? or (b) responding yes to Are you currently a daily smoker? The authors repeated their analyses and this updated definition of daily smoking did not change findings in terms of statistical significance for Aims 1, 2, or 3 with one exception. In Aim 2, the initiation age (linear) by childhood ADHD status interaction was significant in this correction (p=.025), indicating that progression to daily smoking was faster for LNCG participants who initiated smoking at an older age than ADHD participants. For instance, mean latency was 5.61 years (SD=3.28) for ADHD participants and 5.29 (SD=3.22) for LNCG participants who initiated at 17 year-old or younger, but 2.14 (SD=2.26) for ADHD participants and 1.20 (SD=1.23) for LNCG participants who initiated at 18 years-old and older. This re-analysis did not impact the main findings from this study. This corrigendum includes updated values in the main article and supplemental material based on how we operationalize daily smoking status between 12- through 16-year assessments. The authors also clarify that for the 2- through 10-year assessments, participants were coded as daily smokers if they smoked at least one cigarette per day in response to During the past month, how many cigarettes have you smoked on an average day? The authors also clarify in this correction that weekly smoking in Aim 1 analysis was defined as those who responded once a week or more in response to In the past year, how often did you smoke cigarettes? These two clarifications did not require any re-analysis

Cigarette Smoking Progression Among Young Adults Diagnosed With ADHD in Childhood: A 16-year Longitudinal Study of Children With and Without ADHD

INTRODUCTION: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for smoking cigarettes, but there is little longitudinal research on the array of smoking characteristics known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcomes into adulthood. These variables were studied into early adulthood in a multisite sample diagnosed with ADHD combined type at ages 7-9.9 and followed prospectively alongside an age- and sex-matched local normative comparison group (LNCG). METHODS: Cigarette smoking quantity, quit attempts, dependence, and other characteristics were assessed in the longitudinal Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) eight times to a mean age of 24.9 years: ADHD n = 469; LNCG n = 240. RESULTS: In adulthood, the ADHD group had higher rates of daily cigarette smoking, one or more quit attempts, shorter time to first cigarette of the day, and more severe withdrawal than the LNCG. The ADHD group did not appear to have better smoking cessation rates despite a higher proportion quitting at least once. Smoking quantity and nicotine dependence did not differ between groups. The ADHD group reported younger daily smoking onset and faster progression from smoking initiation to daily smoking across assessments. Finally, ADHD symptom severity in later adolescence and adulthood was associated with higher risk for daily smoking across assessments in the ADHD sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ADHD-related smoking risk begins at a young age, progresses rapidly, and becomes resistant to cessation attempts by adulthood. Prevention efforts should acknowledge the speed of uptake; treatments should target the higher relapse risk in this vulnerable population. IMPLICATIONS: Although childhood ADHD predicts later smoking, longitudinal studies of this population have yet to fully characterize smoking behaviors into adulthood that are known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcome. The current study demonstrates earlier and faster progression to daily smoking among those with a childhood ADHD diagnosis, as well as greater risk for failed quit attempts. Prevention efforts should address speed of smoking uptake, while treatments are needed that address smoking relapse risk. The current study also demonstrates ADHD symptom severity over development increases daily smoking risk, implicating the need for continuous ADHD symptom management