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Citation
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Kennedy TM, Walther CAP, Pedersen SL, McKone KMP, Gnagy EM, Pelham WE, Molina BSG. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: ADHD poses risk for problematic alcohol use through adulthood. Perceived peer alcohol use, one of the strongest correlates of individuals' own alcohol use, is especially salient for adolescents with ADHD. The extent to which this risk extends into young adulthood is unknown, as well as how change in these constructs is associated throughout young adulthood.
METHODS: In the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study, 358 individuals with childhood-diagnosed ADHD and 239 without were prospectively followed from age 18-29. Piecewise, bivariate longitudinal growth modeling was used to examine change in both peer alcohol use and individuals' heavy drinking (binge drinking frequency), their between-person associations, and differences by ADHD group. The addition of structured residuals probed within-person year-to-year change in peer and personal alcohol use and their prospective associations.
RESULTS: Perceived peer alcohol use and individuals' heavy drinking frequencies changed together over time concurrently - from ages 18-21 (piece 1) and 21-29 (piece 2). Prospectively, individuals who increased the most in heavy drinking from ages 18-21 reported more friends using alcohol at age 29, regardless of ADHD history. Within-person increases in personal alcohol use likewise predicted increased perceived peer use the subsequent year within each age group (piece), regardless of ADHD history. However, while decreasing perceived peer use from ages 21-29 was related to more frequent heavy drinking at age 29 for those without ADHD, increasing perceived peer use from ages 18-21 predicted more frequent heavy drinking at age 29 for those with ADHD.
CONCLUSIONS: Young adult heavy drinking changes in tandem with perceived peer alcohol use across individuals and predicts selection of alcohol-using peers from year to year within individuals, further into adulthood than previously documented.
FINDINGS suggest the centrality of relationships with alcohol-consuming friends in relation to one's heavy drinking, especially for young adults with ADHD histories, through the twenties.
Language: en |