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The focus of the current investigation is to examine the temporal relationship of gambling onset and alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis initiation in adolescents and young adults ( M age = 20.3 years) by examining the prevalence and pattern of onset for each substance and gambling pairing and the associated risk between gambling and each substance use. Data were drawn from the multiwave Missouri Family Study ( n = 1,349) of African American (AA; n = 450) and White families ( n = 317) enriched for risk for alcohol use disorder and includes those who were assessed for gambling behaviors and problems: AA (360 males, 390 females) and White (287 males, 312 females). Findings indicated racial differences in the overall prevalence of gambling behaviors and substance use as well as patterns of initiation-particularly within gambling/alcohol and gambling/tobacco for males. Survival models revealed some similarities as well as differences across race and gender groups in associations of gambling with initiation of substances, as well as substances with initiation of gambling. Alcohol use (AA males only) and cannabis use (AA males and White females) elevated the hazards of initiating gambling. In contrast, gambling significantly elevated the hazards of initiation alcohol across 3 of 4 groups and of cannabis use in AA males only. The results highlight some overlapping as well as distinct risk factors for both gambling and substance use initiation in this cohort enriched for vulnerability to alcohol use disorder (AUD). These findings have implications for integrating gambling prevention into existing substance use prevention and intervention efforts-particularly but not exclusively for young AA males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Trauma exposure has been linked to risky sexual behavior (RSB), but few studies have examined the impact of distinct trauma types on RSB in one model or how the association with trauma and RSB may differ across race., Purpose: The objective of the current study was to examine the contribution of trauma exposure types to RSB-substance-related RSB and partner-related RSB identified through factor analysis-in young Black and White adult women., Methods: We investigated the associations of multiple trauma types and RSB factor scores in participants from a general population sample of young adult female twins (n = 2,948). We examined the independent relationship between specific traumas and RSB, adjusting for substance use, psychopathology, and familial covariates. All pertinent constructs were coded positive only if they occurred before sexual debut., Results: In Black women, sexual abuse was significantly associated with substance-related and partner-related RSB, but retained significance only for partner-related RSB in a fully adjusted model. For White women, sexual abuse and physical abuse were associated with both RSB factors in the base and fully adjusted models. Witnessing injury or death was only associated with RSBs in base models. For both groups, initiating alcohol (for Black women), alcohol, or cannabis (for White women) before sexual debut (i.e., early exposure) was associated with the greatest increased odds of RSB., Conclusions: Data highlight the contribution of prior sexual abuse to RSBs for both White and Black women, and of prior physical abuse to RSBs for White women. Findings have implications for intervention after physical and sexual abuse exposure to prevent RSB, and thus, potentially reduce sexually transmitted infection/human immunodeficiency virus infection and unintended pregnancy in young women., (Copyright © 2018 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The current investigation assessed for moderating effects of childhood trauma on genetic and environmental contributions to timing of alcohol use initiation and alcohol use disorder in African American (AA) and European American (EA) women. Data were drawn from diagnostic telephone interviews conducted with 3786 participants (14.6% AA) in a longitudinal female twin study. Childhood trauma was defined alternately as child maltreatment and more broadly to include other events (e.g., witnessing violence). Phenotypic associations between childhood trauma and alcohol outcomes were estimated using logistic regression analyses. Twin modeling was conducted to test for moderating effects of childhood trauma on the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to timing of initiation and alcohol use disorder. Under both definitions, childhood trauma was associated with early initiation (relative risk ratios: 1.90, 1.72) and alcohol use disorder (odds ratios: 1.92, 1.76). Yet gene by environment effects were observed only for child maltreatment and timing of initiation in EA women, with heritable influences less prominent in those who had experienced child maltreatment (0.35, 95% CI: 0.05-0.66 vs. 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.73). We found more similarities than differences in the association of childhood trauma with alcohol outcomes across racial/ethnic groups, trauma type, and stages of alcohol use. However, findings suggest that the relative contribution of genetic factors to alcohol outcomes differs by childhood maltreatment history in EA women specifically in the earliest stage of alcohol use.

Background: Childhood maltreatment is a known risk factor for cannabis initiation and problem use, but the extent to which this association is attributable to shared familial influences is unknown. We estimate the magnitude of associations between childhood maltreatment, timing of cannabis initiation, and cannabis-related problems, in European-American (EA) and African-American (AA) women, and parse the relative influence of additive genetic (A), shared environmental (C), and individual-specific environmental (E) factors on these constructs and their covariation., Methods: Data were from diagnostic telephone interviews conducted with 3786 participants (14.6% AA) in a population-based study of female twins. Logistic regression analyses and twin modeling were used to test for associations, and estimate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences to childhood maltreatment and cannabis outcomes and their covariation., Results: Maltreatment was significantly associated with increased likelihood of cannabis initiation before age 15 among EAs (OR=6.33) and AAs (OR=3.93), but with increased likelihood of later initiation among EAs only (OR=1.68). Maltreatment was associated with cannabis problems among both groups (EA OR=2.32; AA OR=2.03). Among EA women, the covariation between maltreatment and cannabis outcomes was primarily attributable to familial environment (rC=0.67-0.70); among AAs, only individual-specific environment contributed (rE=0.37-0.40)., Conclusion: Childhood maltreatment is a major contributor to early initiation of cannabis as well as progression to cannabis problems in both AA and EA women. Distinctions by race/ethnicity are not in the relative contribution of genetic factors, but rather in the type of environmental influences that contribute to stages of cannabis involvement., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Differences between African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs) in the prevalence and age at onset of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been documented, but distinctions in the timing of early stage transitions and contribution of various psychiatric and psychosocial risk factors to the progression from initiation to AUD have yet to be investigated. The current study characterized progression from alcohol use initiation-defined alternatively as first drink, first intoxication, and regular drinking onset-to AUD in AA and EA youth., Methods: Psychiatric interviews were administered via telephone to 1,461 participants (56% AA, 44% EA) in a high-risk family study (50.3% female, mean age = 17.6 [SD = 3.8]). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted separately for the AA and EA subsamples to predict DSM-5 AUD as a function of age at alcohol use initiation, with age at first drink, age at first intoxication, and age at regular drinking onset as the point of origin in separate models., Results: Across race/ethnicity, regardless of how it was measured, early alcohol use initiation predicted AUD, but hazard ratios (HRs) were lowest for first drink. Regular smoking and social anxiety disorder were significant predictors in both racial/ethnic groups, but associations with conduct disorder (all 3 models: HR range = 2.07 to 4.15) and major depressive disorder (regular drinking: HR = 4.51, confidence interval [CI]: 1.60 to 12.69 for AUD onset ≥ age 20) were specific to AAs. Posttraumatic stress disorder (HR = 5.38, CI: 1.44 to 20.08) and generalized anxiety disorder (HR = 7.35, CI: 2.31 to 23.34 for AUD onset ≤ age 17) were strongly associated with progression from regular drinking to AUD exclusively in EAs., Conclusions: Early alcohol use initiation is a marker of risk for AUD in both AA and EA youth, but the contributions of various psychiatric risk factors to the development of AUD are not universal across racial/ethnic groups., (Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.)

The goal of the current study was to examine whether the magnitude of the association between childhood physical abuse (CPA) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) varies by type of CPA assessment and race of the respondents. Data are from the Missouri adolescent female twins study and the Missouri family study (N = 4508) where 21.2% identified as African American (AA) and 78.8% as European American (EA); mean age = 23.8. Data were collected using a structured comprehensive interview which assessed CPA experiences using behavioral questions about specific abusive behaviors and trauma checklist items. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for additional risk factors associated with AUD, including co-occurring psychiatric disorders (defined as time-varying) and parental alcohol misuse. Overall, CPA reporting patterns were highly correlated (tetrachoric ρ = 0.73); although, only 25.8% of women who endorsed behaviorally defined CPA also endorsed checklist items whereas 72.2% of women who endorsed checklist items also endorsed behavioral questions. Racial disparities were evident, with behaviorally defined CPA increasing the hazard for AUD in EA but not AA women. Additional racial disparities in the risk for AUD were observed: increased hazard for AUD were associated with major depressive disorder in AA, and cannabis dependence and paternal alcohol problems in EA, women. Results demonstrate the relevance of the type of CPA measure in assessing CPA in studies of alcohol-related problems-behavioral items may be more inclusive of CPA exposure and more predictive of AUD- and highlight racial distinctions of AUD etiology in women. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).)

Background: Despite substantial evidence that alcohol use disorder (AUD) and bulimic behaviors (i.e., binge eating and compensatory behaviors) co-occur, insufficient information exists regarding a possible shared etiology. Moreover, although numerous twin studies of European ancestry individuals have reported moderate heritability estimates for AUD and bulimic behaviors, with little evidence for shared environmental factors, research on genetic and environmental risk in African American (AA) individuals is lacking., Methods: We investigated specific and overlapping genetic and environmental influences on AUD and bulimic behaviors in 3232 European American (EA; 55.38% monozygotic) and 549 AA (42.81% monozygotic) young adult female twins from the Missouri Adolescent Female Twin Study (age range=18-29 years). A structured clinical interview assessed lifetime DSM-5 AUD (minus craving) and bulimic behaviors. Biometrical twin modeling was conducted to generate age-adjusted estimates of genetic and environmental influences on AUD, bulimic behaviors, and their comorbidity., Results: Estimates of genetic and environmental contributions on AUD and bulimic behaviors could be equated across EA and AA women. Additive genetic effects accounted for 59% (95% CI: 50%, 66%) and 43% (33%, 52%) of the variance in AUD and bulimic behaviors, respectively, with the remainder due to non-shared environmental effects. Shared genetic factors (rg=.33 (.18, .49)) were solely responsible for the correlation between phenotypes; the non-shared environmental correlation was not significant (re=.10 (-.05, .25))., Conclusions: Findings indicate similar magnitudes of genetic and environmental effects on AUD and bulimic behaviors for EA and AA women and implicate common genetic mechanisms underlying liability to these problem behaviors., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To assess whether the higher prevalence of childhood trauma exposure but lower prevalence of alcohol use in Black vs. White adolescent girls reflects a lower magnitude of association between trauma and alcohol use initiation in Black girls; and additionally, whether low socioeconomic status (SES) and neighborhood factors account in part for the link between trauma and early alcohol use.Methods: Data were drawn from annual interviews conducted with an urban sample of girls and their primary caregivers from ages 5-8 (baseline) through age 17 (n = 2068, 57.7% Black, 42.3% White). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses using race and childhood trauma to predict alcohol use initiation were conducted in two stages, with SES and neighborhood factors added in the second stage.Results: Childhood trauma was more prevalent (29.0 vs. 17.5%) and alcohol use initiation less prevalent (37.7 vs. 54.4%) in Black vs. White girls, but we found no evidence for differences in liability conferred by trauma. However, significant changes in hazards ratios (HRs) from the unadjusted to adjusted models were observed for Black race (HR = 0.57, CI 0.50-0.65 to HR = 0.66, CI 0.54-0.80) and childhood trauma (HR = 1.70, CI 1.46-1.99 to HR = 1.34, CI 1.05-1.71).Conclusions: Findings indicate that childhood trauma is an equally potent risk factor for early drinking onset for Black and White girls; the risk for early alcohol use in Black girls who have experienced traumatic events should not be underestimated. Results further indicate that low SES and neighborhood factors contribute to the associations of childhood trauma and race with alcohol use initiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]