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While the association between heavy alcohol consumption and aggression has been well documented, the causal direction of this association, particularly at a population level, is disputed. A number of causal sequences have been proposed. First, that aggression leads to heavy alcohol use. Second, that heavy alcohol use leads to aggression. Third, that the association between alcohol use and aggression is due to confounding by (a) sociodemographic variables or (b) delinquency. We report here data from four Australasian prospective longitudinal studies of adolescents, to assess the temporal sequence of heavy drinking and aggression over the period from adolescence to young adulthood. The four cohort studies provide a total sample of 6,706 persons (Australian Temperament Project, n = 1701; Christchurch Health and Development Study, n = 931; Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, n = 2437; Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study, n = 1637). We use multinomial logistic regression to determine whether early adolescent aggression predicts subsequent age of onset of heavy episodic drinking (HED), after adjustment for concurrent sociodemographic factors and delinquency. We then consider whether HED predicts subsequent aggression, after adjusting for past aggression, concurrent delinquency, and a range of confounders. There are broadly consistent findings across the four cohort studies. Early aggression strongly predicts subsequent HED. HED predicts later aggression after adjustment for prior aggression and other confounders. Policies that alter population levels of alcohol consumption are likely to impact on levels of aggression in societies where HED linked to aggression is more common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Christchurch Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children who were born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to the age of 35.Scope Of This Review: This article examines a series of findings from the CHDS that address a range of issues relating to the use of cannabis amongst the cohort. These issues include: (a) patterns of cannabis use and cannabis dependence; (b) linkages between cannabis use and adverse educational and economic outcomes; (c) cannabis and other illicit drug use; (d) cannabis and psychotic symptoms; (e) other CHDS findings related to cannabis; and (f) the consequences of cannabis use for adults using cannabis regularly.Findings: In general, the findings of the CHDS suggest that individuals who use cannabis regularly, or who begin using cannabis at earlier ages, are at increased risk of a range of adverse outcomes, including: lower levels of educational attainment; welfare dependence and unemployment; using other, more dangerous illicit drugs; and psychotic symptomatology. It should also be noted, however, that there is a substantial proportion of regular adult users who do not experience harmful consequences as a result of cannabis use.Conclusions: Collectively, these findings suggest that cannabis policy needs to be further developed and evaluated in order to find the best way to regulate a widely-used, and increasingly legal substance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Christchurch Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children who were born in Christchurch New Zealand in 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to the age of 35. This article examines a series of findings from the Christchurch Health and Development Study that address a range of issues relating to the measurement, explanation and prevention of crime and antisocial behaviour. These issues include:• The measurement of antisocial behaviour in middle childhood;• The effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on later criminal offending;• The long-term consequences of conduct problems, self-control and attention deficits for later crime and delinquency;• The role of the marker for the monoamine oxidase (MAOA) genotype in moderating the associations between crime and life course predictors of crime;• The development of trajectory models of crime;• The use of fixed effects regression in longitudinal analyses to control non-observed sources of confounding;• Findings from evaluations of home visiting and parent behaviour management programmes.In general, the findings of the Christchurch Health and Development Study suggest that: (a) conduct problems in childhood and adolescence are a strong and consistent predictor of adult crime; (b) maternal smoking may be an important factor in the development of crime and antisocial behaviour; (c) individuals with the low activity variant of the marker for the MAOA genotype may be at particular risk of criminal offending in adulthood if exposed to environmental risks; (d) the linkages between alcohol misuse and criminal offending are specific to more impulsive kinds of crime such as assault and vandalism; and (e) that home visitation and parent behaviour management programmes may be effective in reducing both child abuse and childhood behaviour problems, amongst other beneficial effects.Two general themes unite this diverse portfolio of findings. The first has been the commitment of the Christchurch Health and Development Study research team to develop, pioneer and apply statistical methods for addressing long-standing issues relating to measurement and causal analysis in developmental data. The second has been the commitment of the group to translating research findings to develop well-evaluated evidence-based programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined linkages between income and living standards in adulthood and a series of childhood and adult factors and family circumstances using data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal cohort studied from birth to age 30. Results showed that while the cohort was relatively advantaged, there was still considerable economic inequality at age 30. Analyses suggested that factors influencing income at age 30 included household characteristics related to earning power, educational achievement/cognitive ability, and childhood living standards, while living standards were influenced by income, earning power, mental health and substance use, and childhood living standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychiatric disorders are common during young adulthood and comorbidity is frequent. Individual psychiatric disorders have been shown to be associated with negative economic and educational outcomes, but few studies have addressed the relationship between the total extent of psychiatric disorder and life outcomes.Aims: To examine whether the extent of common psychiatric disorder between ages 18 and 25 is associated with negative economic and educational outcomes at age 30, before and after controlling for confounding factors.Method: Participants were 987 individuals from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of individuals born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1977 and followed to age 30. Linear and logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between psychiatric disorder from age 18 to 25 and workforce participation, income and living standards, and educational achievement at age 30, before and after adjustment for confounding factors.Results: There were significant associations between the extent of psychiatric disorder reported between ages 18 and 25 and all of the outcome measures (all P<0.05). After adjustment for confounding factors, the associations between psychiatric disorder and workforce participation, income and living standards remained significant (all P<0.05), but the associations between psychiatric disorder and educational achievement were not significant (all P>0.10).Conclusions: After due allowance had been made for a range of confounding factors, psychiatric disorder between ages 18 and 25 was associated with reduced workforce participation, lower income and lower economic living standards at age 30. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-harm and suicidal behaviour are common reasons for emergency department presentation. Those who present with self-harm have an elevated risk of further suicidal behaviour and death.Aims: To examine whether a postcard intervention reduces self-harm re-presentations in individuals presenting to the emergency department.Method: Randomised controlled trial conducted in Christchurch, New Zealand. The intervention consisted of six postcards mailed during the 12 months following an index emergency department attendance for self-harm. Outcome measures were the proportion of participants re-presenting with self-harm and the number of re-presentations for self-harm in the 12 months following the initial presentation.Results: After adjustment for prior self-harm, there were no significant differences between the control and intervention groups in the proportion of participants re-presenting with self-harm or in the total number of re-presentations for self-harm.Conclusions: The postcard intervention did not reduce further self-harm. Together with previous results this finding suggests that the postcard intervention may be effective only for selected subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the association between alcohol abuse or dependence (AAD) and major depression (MD) using data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 25-year longitudinal study in Christchurch, New Zealand. The participants aging 18, 21 and 25 years were interviewed on a structural mental health interview intended to evaluate aspects of mental health and psychological adjustments. The results of the study showed a significant (P<.001) shared association between AAD and MD. Additionally, the findings of the study proposed that a causal model in which alcoholism results to increased risk of MD best justifies the link between AAD and MD.

This study examined the effects of single-sex and coeducational schooling on the gender gap in educational achievement to age 25. Data were drawn from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 individuals born in 1977 in Christchurch, New Zealand. After adjustment for a series of covariates related to school choice, there were significant differences between single-sex and coeducational schools in the size and direction of the gender gap. At coeducational schools, there was a statistically significant gap favouring females, while at single-sex schools there was a non-significant gap favouring males. This pattern was apparent for educational achievement both at high school and in tertiary education. These results indicate that single-sex schooling may mitigate male disadvantages in educational achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the pattern of drinking at age 16 and to relate this to outcomes at 16–21 years and 21–25 years across a number of psychosocial domains.A prospective birth cohort study with annual follow-up until age 16 then at 18, 21 and 25 years.Christchurch, New Zealand.Of 1265 subjects, 953 were interviewed at age 16.Multiple measures of family background were collected from birth to 16 years. Alcohol consumption was measured in terms of frequency, usual or last quantity drunk and most drunk per occasion. Problems were also recorded. Questions about psychiatric symptoms enabledDiagnostic and Statistical Manual(DSM) criteria to be applied. Detailed reports on educational outcomes, employment, sexual behaviours and offending were collected.Four latent classes were required to describe drinking at age 16, but these appeared to lie along a single dimension which strongly predicted outcomes at ages 16–21 and 21–25 across all domains (alcohol-related, substance dependence, mental health, education, sexual relationships and offending). After controlling for background and correlates only a small number of outcomes were still related consistently to drinking at age 16 over both periods: most alcohol-related outcomes, the number of sexual partners and the extent of violent offending.Drinking at age 16 is a clear indicator of future life-course over most domains in late adolescence and early adulthood. Many of these associations are due to other covariates. Outcomes specific to drinking at age 16 are alcohol outcomes, number of sexual partners and violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper provides an overview of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS) and a summary of findings relating to child and adolescent mental health. Method: The CHDS is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children born in the Christchurch (New Zealand) urban region during mid 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to age 21. Results: The paper examines the ways in which the study has been able to examine a wide range of issues. Key issues examined include: (i) measurement of disorder (respondent effects; dimensionality; scales vs categories); (ii) prevalence and treatment of disorder; (iii) stability and continuity of disorders; (iv) the contribution of risk and aetiological factors (e.g. lead exposure, parental divorce, child abuse, family adversity, sexual orientation) to psychosocial adjustment; and (v) the psychosocial consequences of mental health problems in adolescence. Conclusions: The study findings illustrate the many advantages of a longitudinal study, such as the CHDS, in providing methodologically sound, theoretically relevant and cost effective research that caters for the interests of multiple end-users including the scientific community, clinicians and applied policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]