Decision-making under conditions of explicit risk and uncertainty in autistic and typically developing adolescents and young adults.

Adolescence has been characterized as a period of risky and possibly suboptimal decision-making, yet the development of decision-making in autistic adolescents is not well understood. To investigate decision-making in autism, we evaluated performance on 2 computerized tasks capturing decision-making under explicit risk and uncertainty in autistic and non-autistic adolescents/young adults ages 12-22 years. Participants completed the Game of Dice Task (32 IQ-matched participant pairs) to assess decision-making under explicit risk and the modified Iowa Gambling Task (35 IQ-matched pairs) to assess decision-making under uncertainty. Autistic participants overall made riskier decisions than non-autistic participants on the Game of Dice Task, and the odds of making riskier decisions varied by age and IQ. In contrast, the autistic group showed comparable levels of learning over trial blocks to the non-autistic group on the modified Iowa Gambling Task. For both tasks, younger autistic participants performed poorer than their non-autistic counterparts, while group differences diminished in older ages. This age-related pattern suggests positive development during adolescence on risk assessment and decision-making in autism but also implies differential developmental trajectories between groups. These findings also suggest differential performance by the risk type, with additional complex influences of IQ and fluid cognition, which warrants further investigations.

Screening women in young adulthood for disabling dysmenorrhoea: a nationwide cross-sectional study from the CONSTANCES cohort.

RESEARCH QUESTION: How do different warning indicators help to identify disabling dysmenorrhoea among women in young adulthood? DESIGN: A nationwide cross-sectional study of women aged 18-25 years from the CONSTANCES cohort was constructed. Disability was assessed with the Global Activity Limitation Indicator question 'For the past 6 months, have you been limited in routine activities?Yes, severely limited/Yes, limited/ No, not limited'. Dysmenorrhoea pain intensity and other chronic pelvic pain symptoms (dyspareunia and non-menstrual pain) were evaluated according to questions from a specific questionnaire. Probability of disability was estimated using a logistic prediction model according to dysmenorrhoea intensity, other indicators of pelvic pain symptoms and other obvious covariates. The results of the predictive model of disabling dysmenorrhoea were presented on a nomogram. RESULTS: Among 6377 women, the rate of disability was estimated at 7.5%. Increased intensity of dysmenorrhoea (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.13), increased frequency of dyspareunia (from OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.33-2.14 up to OR 3.41, 95% CI 2.16-5.38) non-menstrual chronic pelvic pain (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.40-2.19), body mass index over 25 kg/m2 (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.17-1.80) and non-use of the hormonal contraceptive pill (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.05-1.59) were significantly associated with disability. According to the nomogram, a predicted probability of 15% or more could be chosen as a threshold. This represents almost 4.6% of young women in this sample being classified at risk of disabling dysmenorrhoea. CONCLUSIONS: Dysmenorrhoea pain intensity and associated pelvic pain symptoms are warning indicators that can be measured to help screen young women who may suffer from disabling dysmenorrhoea.

Longitudinal changes in device-measured physical activity from childhood to young adulthood: the PANCS follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of longitudinal studies examining changes in device-measured physical activity and sedentary time from childhood to young adulthood. We aimed to assess changes in device-measured physical activity and sedentary time from childhood, through adolescence, into young adulthood in a Norwegian sample of ostensibly healthy men and women. METHODS: A longitudinal cohort of 731 Norwegian boys and girls (49% girls) participated at age 9 years (2005-2006) and 15 years (2011-2012), and 258 of these participated again at age 24 years (2019-2021; including the COVID-19 pandemic period). Physical activity and sedentary time were measured using ActiGraph accelerometers. Linear mixed models were used to analyse changes in physical activity and sedentary time and whether low levels of childhood physical activity track, i.e., persist into young adulthood (nchange=721; ntracking=640). RESULTS: The most prominent change occurred between the ages of 9 to 15 years, with an increase in sedentary time (150 min/day) and less time spent in light (125 min/day), moderate (16 min/day), and vigorous physical activity (8 min/day). Only smaller changes were observed between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from childhood to young adulthood differed between subgroups of sex, tertiles of body mass index at baseline and tertiles of peak oxygen uptake at baseline. While the tracking models indicated low absolute stability of physical activity from childhood to young adulthood, children in the lowest quartiles of moderate-to-vigorous (OR:1.88; 95%CI: 1.23, 2.86) and total physical activity (OR: 1.87; 95%CI: 1.21, 2.87) at age 9 years were almost 90% more likely to be in these quartiles at age 24 years compared to those belonging to the upper three quartiles at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: We found a substantial reduction in physical activity and increase in time spent sedentary between age 9 and 15 years. Contrary to previous studies, using mainly self-reported physical activity, little change was observed between adolescence and young adulthood. The least active children were more likely to remain the least active adults and could be targeted for early intervention.

Cognitive ability, education, height and body mass index in relation to risk of schizophrenia and mortality following its diagnosis.

This study examines the hypotheses that the traits of higher IQ, longer education and taller height are associated with lower risk of death as compared to traits of low IQ, short education, and short height in men with schizophrenia compared to men without schizophrenia. In total, 937,919 men born 1939-59 and 1983-1997 with information from conscription were followed for incident schizophrenia in Danish registries. Higher levels of cognitive ability, longer education, and taller height were associated with fewer cases of schizophrenia. In a sub-sample of 652,368 men with information on body mass index, underweight was associated with more and overweight and obesity were associated with fewer cases of schizophrenia compared with normal weight. Higher cognitive ability, longer education, and taller height were associated with fewer deaths from both natural and unnatural causes in both men with and without schizophrenia. Underweight was associated with more deaths from natural and unnatural causes, whereas overweight and obesity were associated with more deaths from natural causes and fewer deaths from unnatural causes in both groups of men. Due to interaction, tall height and long educational duration were associated with fewer deaths from natural causes, and obesity was associated with fewer deaths from unnatural causes among men with schizophrenia compared to men without. In conclusion, traits in young adulthood are associated with higher mortality in men with and without schizophrenia, but traits of long educational duration and obesity seem to be especially important for lower mortality in men with schizophrenia.

Neuropsychological outcome after frontal surgery for pediatric-onset epilepsy with focal cortical dysplasia in adolescent and young adult.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated neuropsychological outcome in patients with pharmacoresistant pediatric-onset epilepsy caused by focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), who underwent frontal lobe resection during adolescence and young adulthood. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients were studied, comprising 15 patients who underwent language-dominant side resection (LDR) and 12 patients who had languagenondominant side resection (n-LDR). We evaluated intelligence (language function, arithmetic ability, working memory, processing speed, visuo-spatial reasoning), executive function, and memory in these patients before and two years after resection surgery. We analyzed the relationship between neuropsychological outcome and resected regions (side of language dominance and location). RESULTS: Although 75% of the patients showed improvement or no change in individual neuropsychological tests after surgical intervention, 25% showed decline. The cognitive tests that showed improvement or decline varied between LDR and n-LDR. In patients who had LDR, decline was observed in Vocabulary and Phonemic Fluency (both 5/15 patients), especially after resection of ventrolateral frontal cortex, and improvement was observed in WCST-Category (7/14 patients), Block Design (6/15 patients), Digit Symbol (4/15 patients), and Delayed Recall (3/9 patients). In patients who underwent n-LDR, improvement was observed in Vocabulary (3/12 patients), but decline was observed in Block Design (2/9 patients), and WCST-Category (2/9 patients) after resection of dorsolateral frontal cortex; and Arithmetic (3/10 patients) declined after resection of dorsolateral frontal cortex or ventrolateral frontal cortex. General Memory (3/8 patients), Visual Memory (3/8 patients), Delayed Recall (3/8 patients), Verbal Memory (2/9 patients), and Digit Symbol (3/12 patients) also declined after n-LDR. CONCLUSION: Postoperative changes in cognitive function varied depending on the location and side of the resection. For precise presurgical prediction of neuropsychological outcome after surgery, further prospective studies are needed to accumulate data of cognitive changes in relation to the resection site.

The association of cumulative low-density lipoprotein cholesterol exposure and carotid intima-media thickness in a young adulthood population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between cumulative exposure to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in the young adulthood population. METHODS: Young adult subject (18-45 year old) from the Kailuan Study group who participated in the same period of follow-up and received carotid artery ultrasound were selected as the observation subjects. Among them, 3651 cases met the inclusion criteria, which required that carotid artery color ultrasound examinations be completed from 2010 to 2016, with complete IMT measurements, LDL-C data collected at least twice before carotid ultrasound, and participants' age to be ≤ 45 years at the time of carotid artery color ultrasound examination. Linear regression was used to analyze the correlation between time-weighted average (TWA) to LDL-C cumulative exposure and IMT the young population. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of different TWA groups on IMT thickening. Considering that the use of anti hypertensive drugs and lipid-lowering drugs may affect TWA LDL-C, this study excluded people taking antihypertensive drugs and lipid-lowering drugs, and conducted a repeat analysis of the main results. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between TWA LDL-C and IMT, with IMT increasing by 0.017 mm when TWA LDL-C increased by 1 mmol/L * year. The TWA LDL-C in the highest group was identified as a risk factor for IMT thickening, with odds ratio (OR) values of 1.812(1.027 ~ 3.200) in the T3 group. After excluding patients taking antihypertensive drugs and lipid-lowering drugs, the results still showed that the T3 group with the highest TWA LDL-C was a risk factor for IMT thickening, with an OR value of 1.850(0.988-3.464), P for trend is 0.043. CONCLUSION: This cohort study revealed that TWA LDL-C is positively correlated with IMT in young adulthood for risk stratification, and control LDL-C levels at an earlier age may reduce the lifetime risk of developing atherosclerotic disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-TNC-11001489.

Impact of parenthood on eating pathology in young adults.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies investigated parenthood as a predictor of eating pathology in young adulthood. We studied the association between parenthood, in the first year after becoming a parent and beyond, and eating pathology. Furthermore, we examined whether moving in together with a partner affected this association. METHOD: This study used data of four measurement waves from TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey), a Dutch community cohort study (N = 2229) from preadolescence into young adulthood. The Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS), a measure to assess eating pathology, was assessed at ages 22, 26, and 29. Risk for eating disorder was assessed at age 19. Pregnant participants were excluded. RESULTS: Parenthood was not associated with an increase of eating pathology in the first year after becoming a parent and beyond. Instead, parents were more likely to report being free from eating pathology symptoms compared to childless individuals (OR 2.07, 95% CI: 1.11-3.84). Among those who reported experiencing at least one eating problem, parenthood was not associated with the number of eating problems. Moving in together with a partner did not alter the association between parenthood and eating problems and neither did this association differ between males and females. DISCUSSION: Parenthood in young adulthood was associated with a decreased risk of having eating pathology. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: In this longitudinal study among young adults, parenthood was not associated with the development of eating pathology.

Young adults' work-family life courses and mental health trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood: a TRAILS study.

PURPOSE: Work-family life courses have been associated with mental health at various time points in life but little is known about how mental health develops during these work-family life courses. The aim of this study was to examine mental health trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood in women and men with different work-family life courses. METHODS: Data from 992 young adults participating in the 18-year follow-up TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) were used. Work-family life courses from ages 18 to 28 years were previously constructed using sequence analysis. For each work-family life course, trajectories of internalising and externalising problems from ages 11 to 29 years were estimated using a multi-group random intercept growth model. Differences in mental health trajectories were examined across work-family life courses. RESULTS: For women, trajectories of internalising and externalising problems in young adulthood differed significantly between work-family life courses (p = 0.037 and p < 0.001, respectively). Women in the inactive work-family life course reported the highest scores of internalising and externalising problems during the entire young adulthood but the differences in mental health scores became most pronounced at age 29. Trajectories of internalising and externalising problems of men did not significantly differ between the work-family life courses. CONCLUSION: Mental health trajectories differed between women depending on their work-family life course. In men, differences between work-family life courses were less pronounced. Future studies should examine which work-family events and transitions captured in work-family life courses are associated with subsequent mental health problems during longer follow-up.

Job characteristics and personality change in young adulthood: A 12-year longitudinal study and replication.

OBJECTIVE: Personality changes are related to successfully performing adult occupational roles which require teamwork, duty, and managing stress. However, it is unclear how personality development relates to specific job characteristics that vary across occupations. METHOD: We investigated whether 151 objective job characteristics, derived from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), were associated with personality levels and changes in a 12-year longitudinal sample followed over the school to work transition. Using cross-validated regularized modeling, we combined two Icelandic longitudinal datasets (total N = 1054) and constructed an individual-level, aggregated job characteristics score that maximized prediction of personality levels at baseline and change over time. RESULTS: The strongest association was found for level of openness (0.25), followed by conscientiousness (0.16) and extraversion (0.14). Overall, aggregated job characteristics had a stronger prediction for personality intercepts (0.14) than slopes (0.10). These results were subsequently replicated in a U.S. sample using levels of the Big Five as the dependent variable. This indicates that associations between job characteristics and personality are generalizable across life stages and nations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that job titles are a valuable resource that can be linked to personality to better understand factors that influence psychological development. Further work is needed to document the prospective validity of job characteristics across a wider range of occupations and age.

Short-term personality development and early career success: Two longitudinal studies during the post-graduation transition.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate short-term personality development during the post-graduation transition. BACKGROUND: Prior research indicates that long-term personality development matters for employment outcomes. However, this evidence is primarily limited to multi-year longitudinal studies. This research switches the focus to personality changes during a shorter, impactful life transition. METHOD: We examined how short-term personality development during the 14-month post-graduation transition relates to early career outcomes among two diverse samples of graduates from universities (N = 816) and community colleges (N = 567). We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between career outcomes measured 14 months after graduation with initial personality levels and personality changes. RESULTS: Results revealed that mean-level changes in personality were small and mostly negative. Moreover, individual differences in personality changes were not associated with career outcomes. However, initial levels of conscientiousness, emotional stability, and extraversion positively related to both subjective and objective career success. Initial levels of agreeableness were also positively related to subjective (but not objective) success. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that individual differences in personality trait levels at graduation are stronger predictors of early career success compared to short-term personality changes during the post-graduation transition. Taken together, these results help define the time sequence through which personality changes relate to career outcomes.

Cascading Effects of the Family Check-Up on Mothers' and Fathers' Observed and Self-Reported Parenting and Young Adult Antisocial Behavior: a 12-Year Longitudinal Intervention Trial.

Over a 12-year period, this study examined the effects of the Family Check-Up preventive intervention model on both observed and self-reported parenting behaviors of mothers and fathers as well as how those parenting behaviors were associated with young adult antisocial behavior. Teachers identified 641 early adolescent youth from school settings to be at elevated risk for the development of externalizing behavior and/or substance use. These youth and their families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up intervention model (consisting of an adaptive, multi-tiered model of support, including a school-based family resource room, the Family Check-Up, and targeted follow-up services) or a control condition. Using an intent-to-treat approach, the Family Check-Up intervention model positively impacted mothers' observed parenting approximately 5 years later in middle adolescence but was not associated with changes in fathers' observed or self-reported parenting. Mothers' observed adaptive parenting and fathers' self-reported adaptive parenting in middle adolescence were associated with lower risk for young adult antisocial behavior. The cascading effects of brief, family-focused interventions are discussed along with implications for the measurement of parenting in mothers and fathers in the context of preventive intervention trials.

Childhood adversity and cardiovascular disease in early adulthood: a Danish cohort study.

AIMS: To examine the effect of childhood adversity on the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) between ages 16 and 38, specifically focusing on ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Register data on all children born in Denmark between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 2001, who were alive and resident in Denmark without a diagnosis of CVD or congenital heart disease until age 16 were used, totalling 1 263 013 individuals. Cox proportional hazards and Aalen additive hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and adjusted hazard differences of CVD from ages 16 to 38 in five trajectory groups of adversity experienced between ages 0 and 15. In total, 4118 individuals developed CVD between their 16th birthday and 31 December 2018. Compared with those who experienced low levels of adversity, those who experienced severe somatic illness and death in the family (men: adjusted HR: 1.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.4-1.8, women: 1.4, 1.2-1.6) and those who experienced very high rates of adversity across childhood and adolescence (men: 1.6, 1.3-2.0, women: 1.6, 1.3-2.0) had a higher risk of developing CVD, corresponding to 10-18 extra cases of CVD per 100 000 person-years in these groups. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals who have been exposed to childhood adversity are at higher risk of developing CVD in young adulthood compared to individuals with low adversity exposure. These findings suggest that interventions targeting the social origins of adversity and providing support for affected families may have long-term cardio-protective effects.

First Used Nicotine/Cannabis Product and Associated Outcomes in Late Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Nicotine and tobacco product (NTP) and cannabis use are common in adolescence/young adulthood and increase risk for negative psychosocial outcomes. This study investigated associations among adolescent/young adults' initial experiences with NTPs, lifetime frequency of substance use, substance-related problems, and mental health symptoms. METHOD: Adolescents and young adults enrolled in a study on NTP and cannabis use were asked at what age they initiated the use of NTPs and were assigned to groups based on which product or substance(s) they reported using at the earliest age. Participants who reported use of NTPs (in isolation, without cannabis) first (N = 78, "NTP-only"), simultaneous use of NTPs and cannabis first (e.g., blunt or bowl; N = 25, "Simult-only"), use of both NTPs in isolation and simultaneous use at the same age (N = 48, "NTP + Simult"), and no NTP use (N = 53, "NTP-naïve") were compared on substance use, substance-related problems, and mental health symptoms. RESULTS: Groups differed on lifetime frequency of NTP, simultaneous, and cannabis use, with NTP users reporting more substance use episodes and substance-related problems than the NTP-naïve group. The lifetime frequency of cannabis use did not differ across NTP use groups. NTP use was associated with increased anxiety and depression, with no significant differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents and young adults who use nicotine may be at increased risk for greater nicotine use and mental health consequences, but initiating NTP use simultaneously with cannabis may not increase the risk of negative outcomes above and beyond nicotine initiation. Prospective longitudinal research is needed to establish temporal associations between first-used NTP/cannabis products and relevant outcomes.

Nature and correlates of self-esteem in young adult survivors of childhood traumatic brain injury.

Despite growing research linking childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) with reduced wellbeing, self-esteem, and psycho-social health, very few studies have examined self-esteem and its correlates in young adult survivors of childhood TBI. This very-long-term follow-up study evaluated self-esteem in 29 young adults with a history of childhood TBI (M time since injury = 13.84 years; SD = 0.74), and 10 typically developing controls (TDCs). All participants were originally recruited into a larger, longitudinal case-control study between 2007 and 2010. In the current follow-up study, both groups completed well-validated measures of self-esteem and mental health in young adulthood. Although group means for self-esteem did not significantly differ between TBI and TDC groups, a higher proportion of TBI participants rated their self-esteem in the clinical range (TBI group = 17%; TDC group = 0%). While self-esteem was not significantly associated with injury or pre-injury child or family characteristics, lower self-esteem was significantly correlated with greater concurrent feelings of loneliness (p = 0.007) and higher concurrent mood symptoms (p < 0.001).Our results suggest that social isolation and low mood may represent meaningful targets for psycho-social interventions to address poor self-worth in young adults with a history of childhood TBI.

Exploring emotional distress symptom clusters in young adults with childhood traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and stress are persistent and co-occurring symptoms in survivors of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI), and often impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This paper explored emotional distress symptom clusters and associated factors in young adults with childhood TBI. METHODS: We included 54 young adults who sustained mild (n = 14), moderate (n = 27), and severe (n = 13) childhood TBI, at 20 years post-injury. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale was administered. Cluster group membership was identified using two-step clustering and hierarchical clustering methods, and associated factors were assessed with multiple regression models. RESULTS: Two symptom cluster groups were identified, including a No Distress (n = 66%) and an Elevated Distress (n = 33%) group, with the latter showing significantly higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (all p < .001). Elevated Distress group membership was linked to tobacco use and poor sleep quality, while poor HRQoL was associated with younger age at injury and Elevated Distress group membership. CONCLUSIONS: Using cluster methodology, we showed that one-third of young adults with childhood TBI had elevated emotional distress symptoms. This underscores the complex emotional profile of this subgroup and the need for assessment, analysis, and treatment methods that target a range of symptoms rather than relying on single-diagnostic protocols. ABBREVIATIONS: ANOVA: Analysis of Variance; CT: Computed Tomography; DASS: Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale; HREC: Human Research Ethics Committee; HRQoL: Health-Related Quality of Life; IBM: International Business Machines Corporation; MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; PTA: Post-Traumatic Amnesia; QoL: Quality of Life; QOLIBRI: Quality of Life after Brain Injury Scale; REDCap: Research Electronic Data Capture; SES: Socioeconomic Status; SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences; TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury.

Religiosity in adolescence and body satisfaction and disordered eating in adolescence and young adulthood: cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from project EAT.

PURPOSE: This research identified whether adolescent religiosity was associated with body satisfaction and disordered eating in adolescence and early adulthood and explored gender/sex differences in these associations. METHODS: Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) is a longitudinal cohort study following participants from adolescence into young adulthood. For this analysis (N = 1620), religiosity (importance of religion and frequency of religious service participation) during adolescence was examined as a correlate of body satisfaction and disordered eating (binge eating, maladaptive behaviors intended to lose or maintain weight, eating to cope, and dieting) at the same life stage (EAT-II, 2003-2004, Mage = 19.4 years) and during young adulthood (EAT-IV, 2015-2016, Mage = 31.5 years). Analyses used linear and logistic regression models adjusted for demographics and adolescent body mass index. RESULTS: During adolescence, females who placed greater importance on religion had higher body satisfaction, 22% higher odds of binge eating, and 19% greater odds of dieting in the past year, while more frequent attendance of religious services was associated with higher body satisfaction and 37% greater odds of dieting past year. Among males, only frequent attendance of religious services was associated with higher adolescent body satisfaction. Longitudinally, among females, only frequent attendance of religious services in adolescence predicted higher levels of body satisfaction in young adulthood. No significant longitudinal associations were observed among males. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contribute to understanding the complex interplay between religiosity, gender, and body satisfaction. Further research should explore cultural factors influencing these associations and qualitative aspects of religious experiences to inform nuanced interventions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cohort study.

The development of racial wealth gaps in early adulthood.

While much research has documented stark racial gaps in total net worth, few studies have examined the development of racial gaps across different types of assets using longitudinal data. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997), we study the emergence of Black-White and Hispanic-White wealth gaps across different types of assets and debt among a recent cohort of young adults. We find that the gaps in net worth, financial assets, home equity, and debt all increase over time. The racial gaps in financial assets widen at a rate that exceeds the corresponding gaps in other components of net worth. Indeed, a decomposition analysis reveals that financial assets contribute more than home equity to exacerbating net worth disparities. Our findings underscore the unique role that financial assets play in expanding racial wealth gaps in young adulthood.

Alcohol Use and Life Stressors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of Young Adults.

Objective: To estimate the extent to which drinking to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing pandemic-related life stressors are associated with alcohol use escalation among young adults. Methods: Respondents in Los Angeles, CA, USA (N=2,130) completed prospective cohort study surveys before (baseline; October 2018-November 2019; mean age: 19.7[SD=0.4) and during (follow-up; May-August 2020) the COVID-19 outbreak. Past 30-day drinking days and number of drinks per drinking day were assessed from baseline to follow-up. At follow-up, participants reported drinking to cope with social isolation and pandemic-related stressors. Results: Pandemic-related stressor prevalence ranged from 5.5% (evicted/lost home) to 72.6% (worried about education) and 27.1% drank to cope with social isolation during the pandemic. Respondents who did (vs. did not) report pandemic-related coping drinking were more likely to increase past 30-day drinking days and drinks per drinking day from baseline to follow-up after adjustment for possible confounders. Employment loss/reduction, financial problems, and perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19 or handling the pandemic poorly were each associated with increases in drinking days or drinks per drinking day. Conclusions: Experiencing certain life stressors and drinking to cope with social isolation may be associated with drinking escalation among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Young Adults' Daily Participation Scale: A measure of objective and subjective participation.

INTRODUCTION: Participation in occupations is considered essential for individuals' health and wellbeing. Participation is a multidimensional construct that encompasses objective and subjective dimensions that transform over the course of life. Nonetheless, there is a lack of comprehensive measures that examine young adults' participation in age-appropriate activities. Therefore, we developed the Young Adults' Daily Participation Scale (YADAPS) and aimed to explore its psychometric properties. METHODS: In Study 1, the content validity of the YADAPS was established based on nine experts. Its internal consistency, criterion, convergent, and construct validity were explored among 115 typical young adults (21-35 years). Using a different sample, Study 2 examined YADAPS discriminant validity among 33 young adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and 52 typical peers. CONSUMER AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: No consumer and community involvement was included in these studies. RESULTS: The relevance of YADAPS items was sufficient. Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent in most scales (.74 ≤ α ≤ .89). Criterion validity was supported by correlations between the subjective participation scales and a wellbeing measure. Convergent validity was found for all scales. No gender effect was observed (p ≥ .05). However, significant differences (p ≤ .05) were found between individuals with and without DCD. CONCLUSIONS: The YADAPS appears to be a promising measure of objective and subjective dimensions of participation in young adults. The results support the importance of examining various participation dimensions, including occupational experience. Thus, it may be used for clinical purposes among young adults as well as for occupational science research, to broaden our understanding on the interplay between participation dimensions in various life situations in young adulthood. However, further research is needed on psychometric properties, the most suited scoring method, and to consolidate their robustness among diverse populations of young adults. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Participation, or how one engages in daily life activities, greatly affects wellbeing. The activities in one's routine change over the lifespan, in accordance with one's developmental phase. Existing assessments of participation have limitations, like not considering young adults' concerns or only focussing on certain aspects of participation. By focussing on both the objective-observable and subjective-experiential aspects of participation, the Young Adults' Daily Participation Scale (YADAPS) strives to be a comprehensive assessment tool designed specifically for reflecting activities relevant in young adulthood. This manuscript provides preliminary validity and reliability for the YADAPS, a new questionnaire that assesses objective and subjective aspects of participation in activities relevant for individuals in young adulthood. Furthermore, the questionnaire is able to distinguish between young adults with and without participation difficulties; therefore, it is suitable for research and clinical use.

Childhood adversity and risk of type 2 diabetes in early adulthood: results from a population-wide cohort study of 1.2 million individuals.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: To examine whether childhood adversity is related to development of type 2 diabetes in early adulthood (16 to 38 years) among men and women. METHODS: We used nationwide register data of 1,277,429 individuals born in Denmark between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 2001, who were still resident in Denmark and without diabetes at age 16 years. Individuals were divided into five childhood adversity groups based on their yearly exposure to childhood adversities (from age 0-15 years) across three dimensions: material deprivation, loss or threat of loss, and family dynamics. We estimated HR and hazard differences (HD) for type 2 diabetes according to the childhood adversity groups using Cox proportional hazards and Aalen additive hazards models. RESULTS: During follow-up from age 16 to 31 December 2018, 4860 individuals developed type 2 diabetes. Compared with the low adversity group, the risk of type 2 diabetes was higher in all other childhood adversity groups among both men and women. For example, the risk was higher in the high adversity group characterised by high rates of adversity across all three dimensions among men (HR 2.41; 95% CI 2.04, 2.85) and women (1.58; 1.31, 1.91), translating into 36.2 (25.9, 46.5) additional cases of type 2 diabetes per 100,000 person-years among men and 18.6 (8.2, 29.0) among women. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Individuals who experienced childhood adversity are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in early adulthood. Intervening upon proximal determinants of adversity may help reduce the number of type 2 diabetes cases among young adults.