title: Early adolescent substance use as a risk factor for developing conduct disorder and depression symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Conduct disorder and depression symptoms are well-established risk factors for substance use during adolescence. However, few investigations have examined whether early substance use increases adolescents' risk of developing conduct disorder/depression symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the Developmental Pathways Project sample of 521 middle school students (51.6% male), we tested whether substance use (indicated by alcohol and marijuana use, and use-related impairment) in 8th and 9th grade increased risk of conduct disorder and depression symptoms in 9th and 12th grade over and above prior symptoms. We examined whether associations between substance use and conduct disorder/depression symptoms were consistent across self- or parent-reported symptoms and whether associations were moderated by gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses indicated that, over and above prior symptoms, elevated substance use in 8th grade predicted elevated conduct disorder symptoms in 9th grade, and substance use in 9th grade predicted conduct disorder symptoms in 12th grade. In contrast, substance use failed to predict later depression symptoms independent of prior symptoms. These findings were consistent across self- and parent-reported conduct disorder/depression symptoms. With one exception (association between substance use in 8th grade and self-reported conduct disorder symptoms in 9th grade), relations between early substance use and later conduct disorder symptoms did not differ between boys and girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Study findings underscore the unique contribution of substance use during early adolescence to the development of conduct disorder symptoms by late adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
authors.forename: Brian T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Wymbs
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Carolyn A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McCarty
authors.affiliation: Boys Town National Research Institute, Boys Town, Nebraska.
authors.forename: W Alex
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Baer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vander Stoep
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCauley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology