Disaster Exposure and Temperament as Predictors of Adolescent Substance Use.

OBJECTIVE Children who have been exposed to a natural disaster in their lifetime comprise a significant population with specific risks and vulnerabilities, particularly for at-risk youth. The goal of the current study was to examine the role that severity of disaster exposure plays in determining the timing of alcohol and marijuana use initiation and the frequency of use four years later in a sample of at-risk, aggressive youth exposed to a devastating tornado. Of further interest was the examination of the moderating effect of temperamental fear and inhibitory control. METHOD Three hundred and forty-six youth (Mage = 11.33; 65% boys; 77.5% African-Americans, 18.3% Caucasian, 1.7% Hispanic) initially recruited for a prevention program for at-risk youth were followed for 4 years after a tornado. Cox PH regressions were conducted to predict timing of alcohol and marijuana use initiation. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were used to predict frequency of alcohol and marijuana use 4 years after the tornado. RESULTS Disaster exposure severity was predictive of frequency of marijuana use four years after the tornado, but exposure alone was not predictive of initiation. Exposure severity predicted increases in risk for alcohol use initiation only for youth high in fear. Additionally, greater levels of inhibitory control protected youth from earlier alcohol use initiation. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight a need to research the initiation and frequency of use for substances individually, while also assessing the needs of youth exposed to natural disasters with both their degree of disaster exposure and specific temperamental characteristics in mind.

[1]  J. Lochman,et al.  Substance Use Outcomes from Two Formats of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Aggressive Children: Moderating Roles of Inhibitory Control and Intervention Engagement , 2021, Brain sciences.

[2]  J. Lochman,et al.  Trajectories of tornado-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and pre-exposure predictors in a sample of at-risk youth. , 2019, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[3]  Jenna L. McCauley,et al.  Adolescent Substance Use Following a Deadly U.S. Tornado Outbreak: A Population-Based Study of 2,000 Families , 2017, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[4]  J. Lochman,et al.  Pre–Post Tornado Effects on Aggressive Children’s Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment Through One-Year Postdisaster , 2017, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[5]  R. Kotov,et al.  Negative emotionality and its facets moderate the effects of exposure to Hurricane Sandy on children's postdisaster depression and anxiety symptoms. , 2016, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[6]  J. Lochman,et al.  Evidence-based preventive intervention for preadolescent aggressive children: One-year outcomes following randomization to group versus individual delivery. , 2015, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[7]  Jenna L. McCauley,et al.  Prevalence and predictors of PTSD and depression among adolescent victims of the Spring 2011 tornado outbreak. , 2014, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[8]  C. Weems,et al.  Family and peer social support and their links to psychological distress among hurricane-exposed minority youth. , 2014, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[9]  E. Davis,et al.  Dysregulated Fear Predicts Social Wariness and Social Anxiety Symptoms during Kindergarten , 2013, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[10]  M. Llabre,et al.  Children’s Postdisaster Trajectories of PTS Symptoms: Predicting Chronic Distress , 2013, Child & youth care forum.

[11]  K. Brady,et al.  Substance Use Disorders and Anxiety: A Treatment Challenge for Social Workers , 2013, Social work in public health.

[12]  C. Kornreich,et al.  Why is adolescence a key period of alcohol initiation and who is prone to develop long-term problem use?: A review of current available data , 2013, Socioaffective neuroscience & psychology.

[13]  Neal Doran,et al.  Adolescent Substance Use and Aggression , 2012 .

[14]  N. Fox,et al.  Behavioral Inhibition and Anxiety: The Moderating Roles of Inhibitory Control and Attention Shifting , 2011, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[15]  J. Jaccard,et al.  Hurricane-related exposure experiences and stressors, other life events, and social support: concurrent and prospective impact on children's persistent posttraumatic stress symptoms. , 2010, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[16]  A. Valdez,et al.  Patterns of substance use among hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston, Texas. , 2010, Disasters.

[17]  M. Zvolensky,et al.  An evaluation of the nature of marijuana use and its motives among young adult active users. , 2009, The American journal on addictions.

[18]  S. Sussman,et al.  Impact of Hurricane Rita on Adolescent Substance Use , 2009, Psychiatry.

[19]  P. Boxer,et al.  Factors Influencing the Course of Posttraumatic Stress Following a Natural Disaster: Children's Reactions to Hurricane Katrina. , 2009 .

[20]  C. Weems,et al.  Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research in the Context of Hurricane Katrina: An Ecological Needs-Based Perspective and Introduction to the Special Section , 2008, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[21]  J. Oehler-Stinnett,et al.  Validity of the osu post-traumatic stress disorder scale and the behavior assessment system for children self-report of personality with child tornado survivors† , 2008 .

[22]  D. Amso,et al.  Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching , 2006, Neuropsychologia.

[23]  A. Loukas,et al.  Family Environment, Effortful Control, and Adjustment Among European American and Latino Early Adolescents , 2006 .

[24]  H. Engeland,et al.  Reactive and proactive aggression in children A review of theory, findings and the relevance for child and adolescent psychiatry , 2005, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

[25]  H. Reinherz,et al.  Comorbidity of substance use and post-traumatic stress disorders in a community sample of adolescents. , 2000, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[26]  Martha D. Petoskey,et al.  A typology of parent rated child behavior for a national U.S. sample. , 1999, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[27]  H. Kraemer,et al.  Linking self-reported childhood behavioral inhibition to adolescent social phobia. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[28]  R E Tremblay,et al.  Boys' behavioral inhibition and the risk of later delinquency. , 1997, Archives of general psychiatry.

[29]  M. Rothbart,et al.  Development and Validation of an Early Adolescent Temperament Measure , 1992 .

[30]  C. Robert Cloninger,et al.  Childhood personality predicts alcohol abuse in young adults. , 1988, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[31]  R E Tremblay,et al.  Behavior of boys in kindergarten and the onset of substance use during adolescence. , 1997, Archives of general psychiatry.