title: Temperament disturbances measured in infancy progress to substance use disorder 20 years later.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This prospective study determined whether temperament before two years of age predicts transmissible risk for substance use disorder (SUD) up to a decade later and SUD outcome in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Boys between 10 and 12 years of age (N= 482) were tracked to age 22. The previously validatedtransmissible liability index(TLI) was administered at baseline, and temperament prior to two years of age was retrospectively rated. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) was administered to document presence/absence of SUD for parents at baseline and sons at age 22.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Path analysis revealed that number of parents with SUD predicted severity of temperament disturbance in their sons which in turn predicted TLI score at age 10-12, presaging SUD. Temperament before age two did not predict SUD at age 22. The association between number of SUD parents and transmissible risk was mediated by severity of temperament disturbance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Temperament disturbance in early childhood, reflecting quality of behavioral and emotion regulation, comprise psychological antecedents of transmissible risk for SUD.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.affiliation: Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA, USA; University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA, USA; University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Braxter
authors.affiliation: Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA, USA; University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kirisci
authors.affiliation: Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA, USA; University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ralph E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Tarter
keywords: Development; Infancy; Longitudinal; Substance use disorder (SUD); Temperament; Transmissible liability