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. 2008 Feb 28;158(1):43-53.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2007.02.017.

Physical maturation, peer environment, and the ontogenesis of substance use disorders

Galina P Kirillova  1 , Michael M Vanyukov, Levent Kirisci, Maureen Reynolds
Affiliations

Physical maturation, peer environment, and the ontogenesis of substance use disorders

Galina P Kirillova et al. Psychiatry Res. .

Abstract

The risk for substance use disorders (SUD) is transmissible between generations via both genetic and environmental mechanisms. One path that is hypothesized to mediate this transmission and include both types of mechanisms is through faster physiological maturation, leading to suboptimal self-regulation, affiliation with deviant peers, and higher risk for conduct disorder (CD). Extending prior research, this hypothesis was tested in a longitudinal study. A sample of 478 males whose fathers were affected with SUD or psychiatrically normal was assessed prospectively at ages from 9-13 to 17-20. The DSM-III-R diagnoses were obtained using standard methodology. Blood testosterone was assayed by radioimmunoassay, and Tanner staging was used to evaluate sexual maturation. Peer deviance was evaluated by the Peer Delinquency Scale. Correlation and path analysis, Cox proportional hazard regression, and growth curve modeling were used to determine the relationships between the variables. The data support the hypothesis that parental SUD liability influences the rate of physiological maturation in offspring, which in turn is related to affiliation with deviant peers and an elevated rate of the development of CD and SUD.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Path analysis of the developmental relationships between testosterone and peer deviance (*p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001; error terms omitted). T1, T2, and T3 are testosterone level at visits 1, 2, and 3, respectively; PD1, PD2, and PD3 are peer delinquency levels at the same visits.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Path analysis of the developmental relationships between familial SUD load, Tanner staging and peer deviance. TS1, TS2 and TS3 are Tanner stage values at visits 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Growth curve modeling of the relationship between familial SUD load, testosterone level and peer delinquency
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