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Assessment Wave (assessment + wave)

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Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Hypothalamic,pituitary,adrenal axis activity and early onset of cannabis use

ADDICTION, Issue 11 2006
Anja C. Huizink
ABSTRACT Aims To identify early onset cannabis users by measuring basal hypothalamic,pituitary,adrenal (HPA) axis activity, which may be a risk factor for early onset substance use when showing low activity. Design In a prospective cohort study, adolescents who initiated cannabis use at an early age (9,12 years), those who initiated at a later age (13,14 years) and those who did not use cannabis by the age of 14 were compared with respect to HPA axis activity. Setting and participants Data were used from the first and second assessment wave of the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), that included 1768 Dutch young adolescents aged 10,12 years who were followed-up across a period of 2 years. Measurements Cortisol was measured in saliva samples at awakening, 30 minutes later and at 8 p.m. at age 10,12. Self-reported age at first cannabis use was used. Findings The early onset group had lower cortisol levels 30 minutes after awakening than the late onset group (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86,0.99). Furthermore, compared to non-users, the early and late onset cannabis users had higher levels of cortisol at 8 p.m. (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03,1.53 and OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.01,1.45, respectively). Conclusions Some evidence was found for HPA axis hypo-activity at awakening in adolescents with early onset of cannabis use compared to late onset users, which might indicate an increased risk for early onset users of seeking stimulation to restore arousal levels by using substances. [source]

Changes in Sensation Seeking and Risk-Taking Propensity Predict Increases in Alcohol Use Among Early Adolescents

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010
Laura MacPherson
Background:, Conceptual models implicating disinhibitory traits often are applied to understanding emergent alcohol use, but, little is known of how inter-individual changes in these constructs relate to increases in alcohol use in early adolescence. The current study utilized behavioral and self-report instruments to capture the disinhibitory-based constructs of sensation seeking and risk-taking propensity to examine if increases in these constructs over time related to increases in early adolescent alcohol use. Methods:, Participants included a community sample of 257 early adolescents (aged 9 to 12) who completed a self-report measure of sensation seeking, a behavioral task assessing risk-taking propensity, and a self-report of past year alcohol use, at 3 annual assessment waves. Results:, Both sensation seeking and risk-taking propensity demonstrated significant increases over time, with additional evidence that change in the behavioral measure of risk-taking propensity was not because of practice effects. Greater sensation seeking and greater risk-taking propensity demonstrated concurrent relationships with past year alcohol use at each assessment wave. Prospective analyses indicated that after accounting for initial levels of alcohol use, sensation seeking, and risk-taking propensity at the first assessment wave, larger increases in both constructs predicted greater odds of alcohol use at subsequent assessment waves. Conclusions:, Results indicate the role of individual changes in disinhibitory traits in initial alcohol use in early adolescents. Specifically, findings suggest it is not simply initial levels of sensation seeking and risk-taking propensity that contribute to subsequent alcohol use but in particular increases in each of these constructs that predict greater odds of use. Future work should continue to assess the development of sensation seeking and risk-taking propensity in early adolescence and target these constructs in interventions as a potential means to reduce adolescent alcohol use. [source]

Parents' Evaluation of Adoption Success: A Follow-Up Study of Intercountry and Domestic Adoptions

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2009
Jenny Castle BSc
Parents of 165 children adopted from Romania and 52 children adopted from within the United Kingdom rated the success of the adoptions when the children were 11 years old. As was the case at two earlier study waves, satisfaction was found to be extremely high. Both positive and negative assessments were generally stable between ages 6 and 11, although for the children who had more problems there was an increase in negative evaluation, albeit within an overall positive picture. Parents' evaluations were somewhat more negative for this group of children; however, parents reported that having the child as part of their family was very rewarding. Negative evaluation was not directly related to age at placement, but appeared to be a reflection of the later-placed children's higher rates of problem behavior. As found at earlier assessment waves, child factors, in particular conduct problems and inattention or overactivity, were key in predicting parental evaluations at age 11, as were four domains closely associated with institutional deprivation, namely cognitive impairment, quasi-autistic patterns, inattention or overactivity, and disinhibited attachment. The findings emphasize the need for early intervention for children in severely deprived conditions, and for access to postadoption services that target the particular problem behaviors the children may exhibit. [source]