Psychiatric and substance use disorders in late adolescence: the role of risk and perceived social support.
This article explores how measures of risk and perceived social support relate to different configurations of adolescent psychopathology using data from a community-based, longitudinal investigation of 284 individuals interviewed in 1982 at age 5 and again at age 19. Discriminant analysis was used to assess differences in risk and social support variables among eight clusters of youth: anxious, anxious drinkers, depressed, depressed drug abusers, antisocial, antisocial drinkers, drug abusers, problem drinkers, and a ninth group representing those participants without a diagnosis. The results indicated that one function, defined by loadings for (low) family support and (high) early cumulative risk, accounted for the majority of between-group associations. Two groups of drug-abusing youth with multiple adjustment problems were highest on this function, while non-disordered youth and a group of participants with substance abuse alone were lowest. Findings are discussed in terms of the need to consider comorbidity when examining risk factors for later disorder.
Beitchman
Joseph H
JH
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Clarke Division, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Joe_Beitchman@camh.net
Adlaf
Edward M
EM
Atkinson
Leslie
L
Douglas
Lori
L
Massak
Agnes
A
Kenaszchuk
Chris
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors