文章基本信息

标题：Substance Use Among Adults 35 Years of Age: Prevalence, Adulthood Predictors, and Impact of Adolescent Substance Use
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作者：Alicia C. Merline ; Patrick M. O’Malley ; John E. Schulenberg 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2004
卷号：94
期号：1
页码：96-102
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. We examined the prevalence of substance use among American adults aged 35 years, and we considered adulthood predictors and the impact of adolescent substance use. Methods. National panel data were drawn from the Monitoring the Future study. Logistic regressions were conducted to assess the impact of demographics, life experiences, and adolescent substance use on smoking, heavy drinking, prescription drug misuse, marijuana use, and cocaine use at 35 years of age. Results. Factors related to increased likelihood of substance use include high school use, unemployment, and noncustodial parenthood. Lower use was associated with being female, a college graduate, a professional, married, or a custodial parent. Conclusions. Among those aged 35 years, substance use was still rather prevalent and was a function of adulthood roles, experiences, and previous use. It has been shown that substance use peaks during late adolescence and young adulthood and declines thereafter. 1, 2 As midlife begins and individuals assume more personal, familial, and societal responsibilities, the incentives and the opportunities to use substances generally subside, and concerns regarding health risks and negative consequences of substance use tend to increase. Of course, substance use occurs across the life span, and—even at midlife—many still use illicit substances occasionally, licit substances excessively, or prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription. The adverse health effects of continued substance use attest to the importance of examining substance use during midlife. Substance use is related to diseases such as emphysema, lung cancer, and liver disease, and intoxication from alcohol and other drugs remains a risk factor for automobile accidents. One purpose of our study was to examine prevalence rates of current cigarette, marijuana, and cocaine use, as well as heavy drinking, among American adults aged 35 years by focusing on the extent of use among specific segments of this population. A second purpose of our study was to examine how demographics and adulthood roles and experiences relate to substance use at 35 years of age. Various factors are known to be related to substance use among adolescents or young adults. For example, women are less likely than men to abuse alcohol and use illicit drugs. Effects of factors such as race/ethnicity, birth cohort, being married, attending college, and becoming a parent also have been reported among young adults. 3– 5 Our study investigated which of these factors continues to be significantly associated with substance use during midlife. Other factors that are associated with substance use during young adulthood, such as occupational status, may become more strongly associated with use in middle adulthood, when careers become more stable and more is invested in work life. For example, studies have shown that high school marijuana use relates to occupational attainment during young adulthood. Among men, experimental use of marijuana in high school has been found to be unrelated to later occupational attainment 10 years after high school, although greater use during high school does relate to lower occupational attainment; among women, these associations are less clear. 6 As occupational careers unfold and individual differences in career paths become more marked, long-term consequences of adolescent substance use may become more pronounced. The third purpose of our study was to determine how substance use at 35 years of age relates to use 17 years earlier, when the participants were high-school seniors. Some forms of substance use, particularly cigarette smoking, are known to be highly stable across time. 3 Also, evidence exists that individuals who have not initiated drug use by the age of 20 years are unlikely to initiate use later. 2 Therefore, our study examined high school use as a predictor of use at 35 years of age. We sought to determine the prevalence of current and recent substance use at the beginning of midlife. We also investigated the association between substance use at 35 years of age and various important demographics, social roles, adulthood experiences, and substance use at 18 years of age. We used multivariate analyses to assess the extent of overlap among the various predictors of substance use at 35 years of age.