Actions for Early Executive Functioning and Longitudinal Associations to Profiles of Adolescent Vulnerability to Later Substance Use Disorders

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Early Executive Functioning and Longitudinal Associations to Profiles of Adolescent Vulnerability to Later Substance Use Disorders

Author
Sanders, Michael Thomas
Published
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2023.
Physical Description
1 electronic document
Additional Creators
Bierman, Karen L.
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Restricted (PSU Only).
Summary
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are pervasive and costly to society as well as the individuals involved. Researchers have speculated that some risks associated with later SUDs emerge in early childhood when the foundations for effective self-regulation are developed. Specifically, the development of executive function (EF) skills, including working memory, inhibitory control, and attention set-shifting undergo rapid development during the preschool years and play a crucial role in supporting later behavioral self-control, emotion management, and goal-oriented behavior. When children enter elementary school, EF skills promote school engagement and social competence. Theoretically, low EF skills in early elementary school instigate developmental processes that result in impulsive, risky behaviors in adolescence as well as low levels of positive peer affiliations and school engagement. Adolescent profiles of elevated risks and low levels of protective factors, in turn, propel youth toward escalating substance use in adolescence and the development of SUDs by early adulthood. Connections between childhood EF and later adolescent vulnerability for SUDs remain speculative, however, and based upon cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal studies. Prospective, longitudinal research is needed. Delayed EF development and the adolescent initiation of substance use occur at elevated rates among children growing up in poverty, making it especially important to understand processes of developmental risk and resilience among children growing up in economically disadvantaged families. Following a sample of 356 children (58% White, 17% Latinx, 25% Black; 54% girls) from low-income backgrounds, the current study examined predictive associations between childhood EF (measured in Grade 3) and latent profiles representing risk and protective factors for SUDs in late adolescence (measured in Grades 9 and 11). Latent profiles included risky behaviors (early initiation of substance use, sexual activity, deviant peer affiliation) and protective factors (school engagement, positive peer affiliation, extracurricular participation). Analyses addressed two research aims: 1) to identify distinct profiles of adolescent youth who vary in the risk and protective factors that represent vulnerability to later SUDs and 2) to examine predictive associations between early EF and profiles of adolescent vulnerability. Latent class analyses revealed four distinct profiles of adolescent risky behavior and protective social connections. Higher levels of EF in elementary school predicted membership in adolescent profiles characterized by varying levels of risk-taking but more protective behaviors. Implications for optimal early intervention design are discussed.
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Dissertation Note
Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 2023.
Technical Details
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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