Cumulative lifetime adversities and alcohol dependence in adolescence and young adulthood.
OBJECTIVE
Negative life events have been implicated in the development of alcohol dependence. This paper tests whether cumulative exposure to such stressors significantly predicts risk of DSM-IV alcohol dependence disorder in young adults. We also provide descriptive data that characterizes the patterns of cumulative exposure to such events and rates of alcohol dependence across gender, race/ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.


METHODS
Members of a representative urban community sample of 1786 young adults in South Florida were interviewed retrospectively using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, and a lifetime checklist of 41 major adverse life events. The conditional risk of first onset of alcohol dependence disorder was estimated in relationship to a measure of lifetime cumulative adversity using discrete-time event history analysis.


RESULTS
Event history analysis suggested that lifetime stress exposure exhibits a pattern of association with alcohol dependence that is consistent with a cumulative impact interpretation. Both recent events and events more distant in time were significantly and independently associated with such risk. Although these results contribute toward an understanding of variations in alcohol dependence across individuals, they do not assist in the understanding of observed ethnic group differences in such dependence.
Lloyd
Donald A
DA
Center for Demography and Population Health, Department of Sociology, 616 Bellamy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2240, USA. dlloyd@fsu.edu
Turner
R Jay
RJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D044465:White People
D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents