Change over time in adolescent and friend alcohol use: Differential associations for youth with and without childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Abstract

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems by adulthood. However, few studies have examined contextual factors that may contribute to this risk. The current study examined 1 widely investigated social-contextual risk factor, friend alcohol use, in a sample of adolescents with and without a history of ADHD. One hundred and 59 adolescents (14-17 years old) with childhood ADHD and 117 demographically similar youth without ADHD were interviewed annually in the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study. Adolescents reported the frequency of their own alcohol use in the prior 12 months and the number of friends who used alcohol regularly or occasionally (perceived friend alcohol use). Multiple-group parallel process models indicated that increases in friend alcohol use were more strongly associated with increases in adolescent alcohol use over time for individuals with ADHD (r = .15, SE = 0.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.08, 0.22]) than for those without ADHD (r = .06, SE = 0.03; 95% CI [0.00, 0.11]). These results suggest that social factors are an important part of escalating alcohol use among adolescents with ADHD histories, and they highlight the possibility that interventions focused on the peer context could be important for these at-risk youth. Additional social network research on adolescent alcohol use within the larger context of other relationships (e.g., family and romantic relationships) is indicated.

Figure 1

Parallel process latent growth curve model for adolescent alcohol use and friend alcohol use Note: All parameter estimates and standard errors are standardized. 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals are included after the semicolon. Gender, race and number of friends were included as covariates in the model but are not represented in the figure.

Figure 2

Multiple group parallel process latent growth curve model for adolescent alcohol use and friend alcohol use. Note: All parameter estimates and standard errors are standardized. Parameter estimates, standard errors, and 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals for individuals without ADHD are listed first and parameter estimates, standard errors, and 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals for individuals with ADHD are listed second. Bold lines indicate paths that were significantly different between groups; grey paths are not significantly different between nonADHD and ADHD groups. Gender, race and number of friends were included as covariates in the model but are not represented in the figure.