A recent study examined the path experienced by children who experience maltreatment and how personality functioning develops as they grow to heighten their risk for cannabis abuse and dependence in adolescence. The longitudinal study investigated the association between childhood maltreatment with individual personality differences and the extent to which cannabis use could be explained by both (Oshri, et al., 2011).

The researchers examined the situations of 415 children, of which 259 had a history of maltreatment according to records from Child Protective Services. 156 of the children had no maltreatment records. The two groups of children were comparable in terms of socio-demographic factors.

The maltreatment was designated by severity and type and the researchers followed up with the participants three times from age 7 to age 15. During the first interview, the researchers measured ego control (the tendency to express emotional impulses) and ego resiliency (the capacity to change ego control to fit a situational need).

When the participants were between 10 and 12 years old, the researchers conducted the second interview, in which they measured externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Two camp counselors also evaluated the children using the Teacher Report Form. During the third interview, the participants were asked about their current cannabis use and dependence using a diagnostic designed for children.

The results of the analysis showed that childhood maltreatment was associated with problem behaviors at the second session and cannabis abuse and dependence at the third session. However, the results of the study may be limited by the use of peer and observer reports, which may not be accurate in assessing internal experiences and might contain observer biases. The sample also focused on high-risk economically disadvantaged youth, which may produce results differently than children in a broader sample representing the general population.

The results of the study give insight to the actual paths of children who experience maltreatment and then develop a problem with cannabis abuse and dependence. The diminished ability to control emotional impulses and inflexible emotional coping strategies put children at a higher risk for developing a problem with substance abuse.

The results of the study may prove to be very helpful in developing prevention programs to help children avoid initiation of cannabis use. In addition, the analysis may help in targeting children with a history of maltreatment for focused prevention efforts to reduce this population’s susceptibility to a cannabis addiction.

First author Dorothea Blomeyer, a senior researcher at the Central Institute of Mental Health, said that it has long been known that drinking alcohol at an early age is associated with heavier drinking in general, and with more severe problems resulting from alcohol use, including alcohol dependency.

Rainer Spanagel, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Heidelberg, added that many studies suggest that there is an association between early AFD and later alcohol use disorders, which could be relevant in the context of stressful live events.

The researchers examined participants from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk, a study of the outcome of early risk factors from infancy to adulthood. This study included 306 participants who were asked about their AFD, stressful life events in the past three years, daily stress events in the past month, and drinking behaviors at 22 years of age. They were also asked about how much alcohol they consumed and the frequency of their drinking during the last month. Because the researchers regularly assessed the participants during adolescence, their responses are assumed to be more reliable than adults trying to remember their adolescence.

Blomeyer said that the researchers found that the impact of stressful life events on drinking patterns depends on the AFD. The earliest AFD among the participants was 8 years, and about half the participants had started drinking before they were 14. The earlier the AFD, the stronger the association between stressful life events and drinking in young adulthood. Stress-related drinking is characterized more by a higher number of drinks and not frequent drinking, according to Blomeyer.

Spanagel added that the association seemed to occur when individuals suffered from stressful life events such as job loss, but not from daily stressors. Blomeyer said they suspect that people with earlier AFDs learn to use alcohol to respond to stressful situations in adolescence.

Blomeyer added that the study adds to researchers’ knowledge of how the association between AFD and later heavy drinking might develop. Their study suggests that the association relies on a “forward-feeding” effect from heavier drinking in later adolescence, which is usually associated with stressful life events.

Spanagel added that large studies have indicated that each year, adolescents start having their first alcoholic drink at an earlier age, which is a problem that must be addressed. The researchers said prevention efforts should be aimed at delaying the onset of the first drink, as this can help prevent later alcohol use disorders and heavy drinking.

Source: Science Daily, An Early Age at First Drink Combined With Stressful Life Events Can Lead to Heavy Drinking, March 16, 2011

According to The Age, heavy drinking teens can associate bad experiences with pleasure. Aaron White, a health administrator with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, pointed to a misguided neurological process as the problem.

Specific neurological processes were originally designed to ensure human survival. When alcohol is involved – especially in large quantities – these processes are put off course and produce a less than desirable effect.

White pointed to the use of alcohol and other drugs and how their use helps to induce the release of the neuro-transmitter dopamine. The habit of drinking is highly likely to become entrenched the younger the consumer actually is.

Any experience while drinking – including vomiting and car accidents – can be associated with the pleasurable feeling that dopamine induced. In essence, the brain is tricked into believing those things are positive because they feel good. The pleasure associated with the behavior increases the likelihood that the rewarded behavior will be repeated.

Research at the University of California, San Diego found that heavy alcohol consumption among adolescents led to a decrease in the size of the frontal lobes, the part of the brain that was associated with planning, inhibition and emotion regulation. This decrease impact’s the person’s ability to make wise decisions while under the influence of the alcohol.

A key driver for youth drinking is peer pressure. In fact, recent research has even pointed to increases in use due to a perception of the actual usage among friends. In addition, teens often report that they do not believe the health warnings against drinking more than two servings of alcohol a day applies to them. Such ignorance could make the difference between life and death.