Health values buffer social-environmental risks for adolescent alcohol misuse.

Data from a representative sample of 17- to 20-year-old adolescents were analyzed to investigate whether a health-valuing attitude could buffer the effects of social-environmental risk on adolescent alcohol misuse. A risk index was constructed for adolescents, based on variables such as friends' drinking, parental alcohol abuse, and poor parental monitoring and communication. The expected buffering interaction called for high environmental risk to lead to greater alcohol misuse for adolescents who placed low value on health, but not for those who placed high value on health. The expected interactions were obtained for 2 alcohol-related variables (total consumption and consuming 5 or more drinks at a time).

Trends in combinational use of alcohol and illicit drugs among minority adolescents, 1983-1994.

Combinational use of substances refers to taking two or more substances together so that they affect the person at the same time. This pattern of substance use presents unique health and safety risks. Trends in combinational use of alcohol and marijuana or alcohol and cocaine were determined using data from three large comparable samples of students in grades 7-12 in New York State, from surveys conducted in 1983, 1990, and 1994. Each of the three samples was demographically diverse, permitting detailed analysis of trends in various adolescent subgroups according to gender, grade level (age), and race/ethnicity. These two forms of adolescent combinational use of alcohol and illicit drugs dropped sharply from 1983 to 1990, but increased or remained stable from 1990 to 1994. Use of alcohol and marijuana together increased sharply from 1990 to 1994, much more for blacks and Hispanics than for whites, while use of alcohol and crack or cocaine together remained stable at a low level in the 1990s. Both forms of combinational use increased in the 1990s more among younger adolescents than among older ones. Analyses controlling for rates of use also suggest that these forms of combinational use are incidental to the use of the individual substances, rather than uniquely sought "highs." Prevention programs should include warnings about the dangers of combinational use, especially for younger adolescents.

Trends in adolescent alcohol and other substance use: relationships to trends in peer, parent, and school influences.

The aim of this study is to improve understanding of trends in adolescent substance use by comparing them with trends in peer substance use, school problem behavior, parental disapproval of alcohol and drugs, and exposure to school prevention information. These trends were determined using data from three large comparable representative surveys of 7-12th grade students in New York State conducted in 1983, 1990, and 1994. Analysis of variance was used to test the significance of the trends and to identify meaningful differences in trends by demographic subgroups (gender, grace level, and ethnicity). Adolescent alcohol and substance use declined in the 1980s, then increased from 1990 to 1994. Trends in friend's substance use and school problem behavior paralleled the alcohol and other substance use trends, consistent with their being part of the same adolescent problem behavior syndrome. Parental disapproval also followed a trend consistent with the substance use trends, i.e., parental disapproval increased in the 1980s but then decreased in the 1990s. However, the trend in school prevention influences did not parallel these substance use trends: student exposure to school primary prevention programs continued to increase from 1990 to 1994. Use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs from 1990 to 1994, increased fastest among the younger students, despite increased school prevention exposure. Other factors must be sought as possible explanations of the increasing alcohol and substance use among adolescents.

Gambling and alcohol use among youth: influences of demographic, socialization, and individual factors.

Gambling and alcohol use are both prevalent among youth and these behaviors may have common predictors within four domains: sociodemographic, individual/psychological, socialization (parental and peer), and other problem behavior. Data were from two household samples of youth in the Buffalo, NY area. Both studies included the same measures of alcohol consumption and gambling frequency, and comparable measures of variables in the four domains. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that impulsivity, moral disengagement, and delinquency (adolescent or peer delinquency) predicted alcohol consumption and gambling in both studies, even after controlling for demographic factors. Parental monitoring, cigarette use, and illicit drug use predicted alcohol consumption in both studies, but did not predict gambling once the demographic and individual factors were taken into account.

Parental and peer influences on the onset of heavier drinking among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Less is known about heavier drinking in adolescents than about alcohol initiation. The present study examined the emergence of regular (weekly) and heavy episodic (five or more drinks at a time) adolescent drinking as a function of social influence (modeling and social control) from parents and peers. METHOD: A three-wave study was conducted using a representative household sample of families in metropolitan Buffalo, New York (N = 612). Over half (54%) of the adolescent respondents were female. Black families made up 30% of the sample. Interviews were conducted at 1-year intervals. Adolescent drinking was dichotomized at each wave into abstinence/light drinking versus regular drinking. Logistic regression including only adolescents who were abstainers/light drinkers at Wave 1 was performed to assess which Wave- variables could predict regular-drinking onset by Wave 2; a similar analysis examined the onset of heavy episodic drinking by Wave 2. Parallel analyses using Wave-2 variables to predict the onset of the drinking outcomes by Wave 3 were also conducted. RESULTS: Across the different analyses, the strongest psychosocial predictors of advancement to heavier drinking were friend's drinking and low parental monitoring. Also, white adolescents were at greater risk than their black counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: A multidimensional approach to prevention that addresses different processes of influence (e.g., modeling and social control) involving both parental and peer domains is likely to be most successful in deterring the onset of heavier drinking in adolescents.

Changes in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among 7th to 12th grade students in New York State, 1983-1994.

Three comparable representative samples of 7th to 12th grade students in New York State were surveyed in 1983, 1990, and 1994 to determine changes in the patterns of alcohol use over the past decade. Each of the three samples was large (n = 27,335, 23,860, and 19,321, respectively), permitting detailed analysis of changes in alcohol use in various adolescent subgroups according to age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Previous research revealed that there were marked decreases in the prevalence of overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems from 1983 to 1990, yet recent national reports indicate that since 1990 there has been an upsurge in substance use among adolescents. Whereas the proportion of drinkers did not significantly increase between 1990 and 1994, average consumption, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems all showed modest, but significant increases in the 1990s. Furthermore, between 1990 and 1994, the age distributions for alcohol use, heavy drinking, and alcohol problems changed, as evidenced by significant age by year of survey interactions. These findings indicate that adolescents are currently drinking, drinking heavily, and experiencing alcohol-related problems at younger ages that they were in past years. Prevention efforts should be targeted at delaying alcohol use in early adolescence.

Decline in alcohol use among 7-12th grade students in New York State, 1983-1990.

The prevalence and patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were determined in two large representative samples of 7-12th grade students in New York State in 1983 and 1990. Comparable sampling procedures and measures were used in both surveys. Logistic regression analyses showed that overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems decreased significantly for the population as a whole; furthermore, all subgroups according to age, gender, and racial/ethnic status showed significant declines in alcohol use and related problems over this time period. The social context of this change is discussed.

Maternal age and blood alcohol concentration in the pregnant Long-Evans rat.

Despite comparable alcohol consumption, not all women who drink excessively give birth to children with fetal alcohol effects or the fetal alcohol syndrome. Various maternal factors may be important in this regard. For example, two recent animal studies found that maternal age was an important risk factor in regard to alcohol's adverse effects on pregnancy. Specifically, alcohol produced greater maternal and fetal toxicity in older and middle-age mothers than in younger cohorts. An age-related difference in maternal blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), despite comparable alcohol administration, may have been the major factor. That is, older mothers may achieve higher BACs or take longer to eliminate alcohol from their blood, resulting in greater maternal and fetal toxicity. The present study was conducted to investigate this possibility. Dams were of three age groups: 2 1/4, 3 3/4 and 5 1/4 months old. Alcohol (3.5 g/kg p.o.) was administered twice daily at a 6-hr interval from gestation days 11 to 19. Blood samples were obtained on gestation day 19 at 1, 2, 4 and 6 hr after each injection. The data showed a progressive increase in peak BACs and a prolonged presence of alcohol with increasing maternal age. It was subsequently hypothesized that age-related differences in percent body water content might account for these effects, and we tested for this possibility. While age-related differences in body water content were found, administering alcohol doses on the basis of body water content did not equate BAC curves across the maternal age groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The interactive effects of alcohol and cocaine on maternal and fetal toxicity in the Long-Evans rat.

The number of obstetric patients with polydrug abuse problems has increased substantially in recent years. One of the most common drug combinations is alcohol and cocaine. The effect of this drug combination on pregnancy is, therefore, of interest. Consequently, the present study investigated the relative and interactive effects of these two drugs on pregnancy outcome in an animal model. Alcohol and cocaine were administered, both separately and in combination, to separate groups of pregnant Long-Evans rats from gestation day 7-19. Animals were then sacrificed and examined on gestation day 20. Control animals were given vehicle only or were nontreated. The isobolographic method was used to evaluate the effects of the alcohol-by-cocaine interaction on select maternal and fetal variables. This method of analysis indicated that alcohol and cocaine had interactive effects that were linearly additive for some variables and infraadditive for others. In general, the results suggest that the alcohol-plus-cocaine drug combination poses a greater risk to pregnancy than either drug alone.

Dose-dependent consequences of cocaine on pregnancy outcome in the Long-Evans rat.

The number of obstetric patients abusing cocaine has increased dramatically in recent years. To better understand its effect on pregnancy and to establish the LD50s for maternal and fetal fatalities, the dose-dependent effects of cocaine on pregnancy outcome were investigated in the Long-Evans rat. Pregnant animals were given either saline or 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 mg/kg cocaine hydrochloride from gestation days 7 to 19 inclusive. An additional group was non-treated and had ad lib access to food and water. Animals were sacrificed on gestation day 20 and the fetuses were examined. Despite treatment during the major periods of organogenesis and brain development, few congenital abnormalities were observed. There were, however, dose-dependent effects on maternal weight gain, maternal food and water consumption, fetal weight, maternal and fetal fatalities, fetal edema, abruptio placentae and cephalic hemorrhages. Despite suppression of maternal weight gain, there was preservation of fetal weights at cocaine doses up to and including 80 mg/kg/day, suggesting some protection of fetal growth. In addition to providing information on the gestational effects of cocaine in the rat, the present study provides information useful in guiding the selection of cocaine doses for subsequent behavioral teratology studies.

Prenatal alcohol exposure shortens life span in rats.

In a study of the effects of in utero alcohol exposure on life span in rats, pregnant rats were intubated twice daily with 3.5 gm/kg alcohol on gestational days 11-21 or with an isocaloric sucrose solution. These latter animals were pair-fed and pair-watered to alcohol-treated animals. A third group served as nontreated ad lib-fed controls. At birth, all offspring were removed from their biological mothers, culled to eight per litter, and placed with nontreated surrogate dams. Alcohol-exposed animals died at a significantly younger age than pair-fed and ad lib controls and never attained the same maximum body weights as control animals. For females prenatally exposed to alcohol, life span was shortened by about 20 weeks; in male cohorts, life span was shortened by about 2.5-7 weeks.

Increased marihuana-induced fetotoxicity by a low dose of concomitant alcohol administration.

Many pregnant women use both alcohol and marihuana. To evaluate the effects of this combination on fetotoxicity, pregnant mice in the experimental group were injected with a relatively low dose of alcohol (1 g/kg) and with one of two doses of marihuana extract (equivalent of 50 or 100 g/kg delta 9-THC). Control mice received marihuana extract or alcohol alone. The combination of alcohol and the high dose of marihuana produced a greater effect on fetotoxicity (83%) than either marihuana or alcohol alone or that due to the additive effects of either of these substances (63%). The combination of alcohol and the lower dose of marihuana extract did not increase fetotoxicity significantly. Doses of alcohol that are otherwise without effect on pregnancy may thus have the potential for greatly increasing the effects of drugs on pregnancy outcome.

Saccharin preference in animals prenatally exposed to alcohol: no evidence of altered sexual dimorphism.

Pregnant dams were intubated with alcohol (3.5 g/kg, twice daily) on gestation days 11-21. One group of control animals was intubated with an isocaloric solution and was pair-fed and pair-watered to alcohol-treated animals. Another control group was untreated and fed ad lib. At birth offspring were culled and placed with nontreated dams. Animals were tested for saccharin preference at 7 months of age. There was a significant group X concentration interaction when the data were expressed in terms of ml/100 g body weight but when concentrations were examined separately, groups differed significantly only at one concentration of saccharin. When expressed in terms of preference ratios, there were no significant effects of treatment at any concentration and no evidence for an alteration by alcohol of sexual dimorphism in saccharin preference.

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on nose poking in year-old rats.

Rats were prenatally exposed to alcohol (3.5 g/kg/twice daily) on gestation days 11-21. Control animals were vehicle-treated and pair-fed or untreated and fed ad lib. When animals were more than 1 year of age, they were tested for nose-poking behavior with female mice or empty cages and then male mice or empty cages as test stimuli. Alcohol exposed animals made significantly more nose pokes than pair fed or ad lib fed controls. Alcohol exposed females made significantly more nose pokes with female mice as test stimuli whereas males made fewer nose pokes when tested with female mice as test stimuli. Testing in the presence of male mice did not affect nose poking significantly. Nose poking of female alcohol-exposed animals was not affected by female mouse bedding relative to testing with empty cages but was increased in male alcohol-exposed males relative to empty cages.

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on behavior of aged rats.

Pregnant rats were intubated with alcohol (3.5 g/kg, twice daily) on gestation days 11-21. Control animals were intubated with an isocaloric sucrose solution and were pair-fed and pair-watered to alcohol-treated dams. At birth, offspring were placed with non-treated surrogate dams. When animals were slightly more than 1 year of age, they were tested for passive avoidance learning, spontaneous alternation and activity. Groups did not differ in passive avoidance learning or spontaneous alteration but animals prenatally exposed to alcohol were more active than controls. Additional studies showed that this increased activity was not affected by testing animals in the presence of environmental stimuli such as objects which could be manipulated, or by odors from mouse shavings from male and female mice.

Factors affecting the outcome of maternal alcohol exposure: II. Maternal age.

Despite relatively comparable amounts of alcohol ingestion, not all women who drink excessively give birth to children with fetal alcohol effects. The present study evaluated how maternal age affects the outcome of pregnancy in maternal rats of different ages. All dams were nulliparous and were 66, 121 or 156 days at time of treatment. Alcohol was administered at a dose of 3.5 g/kg, twice daily on gestation days 11-21. Alcohol had a greater impact on offspring born to older- and middle-age dams than to younger dams on a number of attributes including neonatal mortality and birth weight.

Comparison between delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabis extract on resorption rate in mice.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis extract, and cannabis extract containing an equivalent amount of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol were administered to different groups of pregnant mice on gestation days 7-15 inclusive. There was a significant dose-related increase in resorptions but no significant difference between compounds in resorption rate, nor was there any significant interaction between drug and dosage. The results suggest that compounds in cannabis extract do not modify the actions of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on resorption rate.

Factors affecting the outcome of maternal alcohol exposure: I. Parity.

Despite relatively comparable amounts of alcohol ingestion, not all women who drink excessively give birth to children with fetal alcohol effects. One reason for this differential effect may be maternal parity. To explore this question, pregnant rats of the same age but different parities (first and fourth pregnancy) were intubated during pregnancy with alcohol. Whereas both parity and alcohol exposure independently affected birth weight and perinatal mortality, there was no interaction between the two suggesting that parity per se is not a factor contributing to the differential effects of maternal alcohol consumption on offspring.

Exposure of rats to alcohol in utero alters drug sensitivity in adulthood.

Pregnant rats were intubated with alcohol (ethanol, 3 grams per kilogram) twice daily throughout gestation. Control animals received solutions of isocaloric sucrose. At birth, offspring were placed with untreated surrogate dams. Beginning at 6 months of age, the offspring were tested for their thermogenic responsiveness to various drugs and to cold. Prenatal exposure to alcohol resulted in tolerance to alcohol and cross-tolerance to pentobarbital and diazepam but did not affect responsiveness to cold. This pattern of effects suggest that prenatal exposure to alcohol produces specific long-term effects on the neural mechanisms underlying drug tolerance.