Parent-child separation and intergenerational transmission of substance use and disorder: Testing across three generations.

There is evidence for intergenerational transmission of substance use and disorder. However, it is unclear whether separation from a parent with substance use disorder (SUD) moderates intergenerational transmission, and no studies have tested this question across three generations. In a three-generation study of families oversampled for familial SUD, we tested whether separation between father (G1; first generation) and child (G2; second generation) moderated the effect of G1 father SUDs on G2 child SUDs. We also tested whether separation between father (G2) and child (G3; third generation) moderated the effect of G2 SUDs on G3 drinking. Finally, we tested whether G1-G2 or G2-G3 separation moderated the mediated effect of G1 SUDs on G3 drinking through G2 SUDs. G1 father-G2 child separation moderated intergenerational transmission. In families with G1-G2 separation, there were no significant effects of father SUD on G2 SUD or G3 drinking. However, in nonseparated families, greater G1 father SUDs predicted heightened G2 SUDs and G3 grandchild drinking. In nonseparated families, G1 father SUDs significantly predicted G2 SUDs, which predicted G3 drinking. However, G2-G3 separation predicted heightened G3 drinking regardless of G2 and G1 SUDs. Parental separation may introduce risk for SUDs and drinking among youth with lower familial risk.

Intergenerational patterns of attachment in custodial grandfamilies.

The present study aimed to identify intergenerational patterns of attachment insecurity among grandmothers, adolescent grandchildren, and birth mothers in custodial grandfamilies and to test the relations among triadic attachment patterns and grandchild socioemotional outcomes. Prior research with custodial grandfamilies has found distinct "profiles" reflecting patterns of closeness between grandmothers, grandchildren, and birth mothers. However, no studies have tested patterns of attachment insecurity among members of the triad, despite the likelihood of attachment disruption in grandfamilies. Moreover, previous studies have only examined links between profile and grandmother outcomes or rudimentary grandchild outcomes. In a sample of 230 grandmother-grandchild dyads from a larger randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of an online social intelligence training program for grandfamilies, latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify profiles of intergenerational attachment insecurity, using grandmother and grandchild reports. Profile differences in grandchild internalizing and externalizing problems, social skills, self-esteem, and prosocial behavior were examined. We identified three profiles: isolated mother, grandchild-linked, and disconnected. Overall, grandchildren in disconnected families (in which attachment insecurity between all three members of the triad was high) fared worst. Grandchildren in isolated mother families (in which only grandmother-grandchild attachment insecurity was low) fared best. A secure attachment relationship between grandmother and adolescent grandchild may buffer effects of attachment insecurity between the grandchild and birth mother. These findings inform intervention efforts and highlight the utility of family- and attachment-focused research for building understanding of custodial grandfamilies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Long-term effects of pre-adoptive risk on emotional and behavioral functioning in children adopted from foster care.

BACKGROUND: Children adopted from foster care are at heightened risk for emotional and behavioral challenges, potentially due to early trauma exposure and related risk factors. Research has demonstrated that adoptees with greater pre-adoptive risk exhibit higher rates of internalizing and externalizing problems across childhood and into adulthood. However, these studies have been limited by their use of individual risk factors or sum scores of cumulative risk and their measurement of internalizing and externalizing behaviors separately. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to examine effects of pre-adoptive risk on long-term functioning in children adopted from foster care. METHOD: In a longitudinally-followed sample of 82 adoptees, we utilized latent growth curve modeling to examine effects of two latent indices of pre-adoptive risk, postnatal (i.e., trauma-related) risk and prenatal risk (not including prenatal substance exposure, since it was nearly ubiquitous in this sample), on adoptee internalizing, externalizing, and latent scores of dysregulation across childhood. Additionally, in three separate models, we tested whether baseline levels and change across childhood in internalizing, externalizing, and dysregulation mediated effects of prenatal and postnatal risk on adolescent/young-adult functioning. RESULTS: Greater postnatal risk, but not prenatal risk, predicted higher levels of internalizing and dysregulation across childhood. However, only dysregulation mediated the effect of postnatal risk on adolescent/young-adult functioning. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with prior research evidencing long-term effects of postnatal pre-adoptive risk, but not prenatal risk, in adoptees. Furthermore, they suggest that trauma exposure in this population may result in a profile of broad dysregulation that increases risk for maladjustment into adulthood.

Heterogeneity in effects of parent-child separation on young-adult substance use disorder.

A large body of literature suggests that parent-child separation predicts child maladjustment. However, further advancement in methodology is needed to account for heterogeneity in types of separation. Additionally, given a lack of research examining different types of separation as predictors of offspring substance use, further research into this topic is warranted. The present study tested the relation between parent-child separation and young-adult substance use disorder (SUD), capturing heterogeneity in these effects based on group differences and measurement of separation. In a sample of 427 young adults from a larger longitudinal study oversampled for parental alcohol use disorder (AUD), effects of number and type of separations on SUD diagnosis were tested. Further, we explored whether these associations were moderated by gender, ethnicity, or parental AUD. Two underlying types of separation were found: parental health-related separation (i.e., parental death, hospitalization) and nonhealth-related separation (i.e., divorce, arrest). A higher sum of separations and greater nonhealth-related separation predicted higher odds of SUD. Greater health-related separation predicted lower odds of SUD. However, these effects were qualified by interactions with ethnicity and parental AUD. Although the vast majority of studies measure cumulative parent-child separation with sum scores, the present study demonstrates that measuring underlying "types" of cumulative separation also reveals important effects. Moreover, childhood separation is a significant risk factor for SUD. Future research on separation should implement methods to capture separation types and further account for potential effects of selection into separation types. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Are recreational cannabis laws associated with declining medical cannabis program enrollment in the U.S.? An analysis of cardholder enrollment and demographic characteristics from 2013 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: There is speculation that enrollment in U.S. state medical cannabis programs differs depending on whether adult recreational cannabis use is legal. If true, this could have implications for public health and policy. METHODS: Using medical cannabis registry data from U.S. states with a mandatory registry between 2013 and 2020 (N = 23 states), this study examined time-trends in medical cannabis cardholder enrollment and tested whether enrollment trends differed depending on adult recreational cannabis legalization. RESULTS: Multilevel models showed that time-trends for registered active medical cardholders differed during years when adult recreational cannabis use was legal versus not legal (time*recreational cannabis law interaction: b = -0.004, p < 0.01, 95% CI = -0.005, -0.003). The population prevalence of registered active medical cardholders increased over time in years when recreational cannabis was not legal (i.e., medical-only years; b = 0.004, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.003, 0.004, corresponding to an increase of 380 cardholders per 100,000 people per year), and decreased in years when recreational cannabis was legal (i.e., recreational years; b = -0.001, p < 0.001, 95% CI = -0.002, -0.001, corresponding to a decrease of 100 cardholders per 100,000 people per year). Time-trends were similar for each sex (male, female) and age group (18-30/35, 30/35+), with each cardholder group showing increases in medical-only years and decreases in recreational years. In medical-only years, there were no differences in enrollment time-trends across sex, but older cardholder (30/35+) enrollment increased at a faster rate than younger cardholder enrollment (18-30/35) (F = 16.199, p < 0.001). In recreational years, male cardholder enrollment decreased at a faster rate than female cardholder enrollment (F = 7.347, p < 0.01), but there was no difference in trends across age. Three states, all with medical-only years, provided data on ethnicity/race. Results showed significant increases from 2016 to 2020 in enrollment of White, African-American, and Hispanic individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that recreational cannabis legalization is associated with decreasing enrollment in medical cannabis programs, particularly for males.

Relations between impulsive personality traits, alcohol and cannabis co-use, and negative alcohol consequences: A test of cognitive and behavioral mediators.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol and cannabis co-users experience more negative alcohol consequences, but distal and mediating mechanisms of this association remain largely unstudied. Considering research suggests that individuals high in impulsivity and sensation seeking are more likely to be co-users, it is possible that co-users have more positive expectancies and become heavier drinkers, which confer risk for future negative consequences. Therefore, the current study tested prospective mediation models in which impulsive personality traits indirectly predicted negative consequences through co-use, heavier drinking, and expectancies. METHODS: The current study used data from a study of familial AUD spanning 3 waves (1995-2010). Participants (N = 567) reported on impulsivity (via the Eysenck Personality Inventory and Sensation Seeking Scale) alcohol and cannabis use, alcohol expectancies, and negative consequences. Models tested the factor structure of impulsive personality traits and whether these traits predicted future negative consequences through past-year co-use and drinking/expectancies. RESULTS: Factor analysis suggested two factors, sensation seeking and lack of premeditation. Sensation seeking was associated with future negative consequences indirectly through co-use and both drinking quantity and positive expectancies. Lack of premeditation was not associated with co-use, but indirectly predicted negative consequences through positive expectancies, above and beyond co-use. Sensation seeking directly predicted negative expectancies, but negative expectancies did not predict negative consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Impulsive personality traits in co-users, particularly sensation seeking, explained variance in future negative alcohol consequences via heavier drinking (behavior) and positive expectancies (cognition). Personalized interventions targeting a lack of premeditation, and sensation seeking in co-users, may interrupt a developmental trajectory toward problem drinking.

Relations Between Child Temperament and Adolescent Negative Urgency in a High-Risk Sample.

Negative urgency, rash action during negative mood states, is a strong predictor of risky behavior. However, its developmental antecedents remain largely unstudied. The current study tested whether childhood temperament served as a developmental antecedent to adolescent negative urgency. Participants (N=239) were from a longitudinal study oversampled for a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Negative emotionality (anger and sadness reactivity) and effortful control were measured in childhood (5-8) and negative urgency in adolescence (13-18). Childhood anger reactivity was uniquely related to later negative urgency above and beyond sadness reactivity. Effortful control was not related to later negative urgency; however, a latent variable capturing the shared variance between childhood effortful control and anger reactivity was related to later negative urgency.

Mother and Father Prescription Opioid Misuse, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Parent Knowledge in Pathways to Adolescent Alcohol Use.

Parenting during early adolescence is key in protecting adolescents against substance use initiation and patterned use. Parental alcohol use disorder is a robust risk factor for maladaptive parenting and adolescent alcohol use. However, it is unclear what effect parent prescription opioid misuse has on parenting and adolescent alcohol use. Associations were examined among parent alcohol use disorder, prescription opioid misuse, and parent knowledge of adolescent activities in early adolescence and their prediction of adolescent alcohol use approximately five years later. The current sample consisted of mothers (N = 457) and fathers (N = 368) drawn from a large longitudinal sample (The Adult and Family Development Project: AFDP). The average age was 11.68 in early adolescence and 16.22 in adolescence and 47% of adolescents were female. Parent knowledge was tested as a mediator of the effects of parent alcohol disorder and parent opioid misuse on adolescence alcohol use. This model was examined separately in mothers and fathers. For mothers, alcohol use disorder and prescription opioid misuse both predicted adolescent alcohol use indirectly via parent knowledge. Mothers' alcohol use disorder also directly predicted adolescent alcohol use. For fathers, no direct or indirect effects of alcohol use disorder or prescription opioid misuse were detected although a covariate effect of illicit drug use on parent knowledge emerged. The results are discussed with regards to the processes that may explain how alcohol disorder or prescription opioid misuse affect mothers' knowledge and increase risk for adolescent alcohol use.

Effects of Observable Parent Alcohol Consequences and Parent Alcohol Disorder on Adolescent Alcohol Expectancies.

BACKGROUND: Parental drinking and parent alcohol use disorder (AUD) are known predictors of adolescent positive alcohol expectancies, but their link to negative expectancies is unclear. Research suggests that parent drinking may indirectly predict adolescent expectancies through exposure to parental drinking events. However, exposure to parent negative alcohol consequences may be more relevant to adolescents' expectancies. The present study tested the mediating effect of parent observable negative alcohol consequences in the association between parent AUD and adolescent expectancies. METHODS: This study used parent and adolescent data from the Adult and Family Development Project. A total of 581 adolescents reported on their alcohol expectancies across 2 waves of data, and their parents reported on potentially observable alcohol-related negative consequences during the first wave. Past-year and lifetime parent AUD were assessed with diagnostic interviews across 6 waves of data. RESULTS: Mothers' observable consequences mediated the effect of her past-year AUD on adolescent negative expectancies in adolescence, but this effect did not hold at a 1.5-year follow-up. Mothers' lifetime AUD was the only prospective predictor of later adolescent negative expectancies. No father drinking variables predicted expectancies, and all models were invariant across child biological sex. Finally, older adolescent age prospectively predicted higher positive expectancies, whereas the adolescents' own drinking predicted lower negative expectancies. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, in line with other recent studies, suggest that exposure to mothers' negative experiences with alcohol may counterintuitively normalize negative alcohol effects. This may paradoxically increase risk for adolescents rather than buffering the effects of a family history of parental AUD.