title: Childhood cigarette and alcohol use: Negative links with adjustment.
abstract: Children who initiate cigarette or alcohol use early-during childhood or early adolescence-experience a heightened risk of nicotine and alcohol dependence in later life as well as school failure, crime, injury, and mortality. Using prospective intergenerational data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), we investigate the association between early substance use initiation (cigarettes or alcohol) and age 11 school engagement, academic achievement, and wellbeing. The ongoing MCS tracks the development of a nationally representative sample of children in the United Kingdom (born 2000-2002) from infancy through adolescence. At age 11, MCS children (n=13,221) indicated whether they had ever used cigarettes or alcohol; at age 7 and 11 they reported on school engagement and wellbeing and completed investigator-assessed tests of academic achievement. Using propensity score methods, children who had initiated cigarette or alcohol use by age 11 were matched to abstaining children with similar risks (or propensities) of early substance use, based on numerous early life risk and protective factors assessed from infancy to age 7. We then examined whether early initiators differed from non-initiators in age 11 adjustment and achievement. Results show that substance use by age 11 was uncommon (3% cigarettes; 13% alcohol). After matching for propensity for early initiation, school engagement and wellbeing were significantly lower among initiators compared to non-initiators. Academic achievement was not consistently related to early initiation. We conclude that initiation of smoking and drinking in childhood is associated with poorer adjustment.
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Sociology, 917 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: jus25@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Staff
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, 119 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: jmaggs@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Maggs
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Sociology, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: kxc399@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Kelsey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cundiff
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania State University, Methodology Center and Prevention Research Center, 217 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: revanspolce@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Evans-Polce
mesh_terms: D000076363:Academic Success; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D000073865:Cigarette Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D012917:Social Adjustment; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Childhood alcohol use; Childhood cigarette use; Intergenerational associations; Millennium Cohort Study; Substance use initiation