Adolescence: A Potential Sensitive Period for Risk and Protective Factors

Background:  Adolescence is marked by biological, physiological, and environmental changes, with increased exploration and experimentations in risky behavior, including substance use. These adolescent experiences can increase the long-term susceptibility to poor health, well-being, and limited financial capital (IOM, 2015). Adolescent substance use literature has established that environmental factors can help promote the desistance from substance use  (protective factors) and increase the susceptibility of substance use (risk factors).  However, the literature has not established the extent to which different ages in adolescence are sensitive periods for specific risk and protective factors. This paper incorporates a sensitive period perspective to examine age-graded changes in risk and protective factors of alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence.

 

Methods: A quantitative survey was administered in schools to a US nationally representative sample of 8^th and 10^th grade students in 2014 (N=9,518), as part of the multi-year cross sectional Monitoring The Future (MTF) study.  Descriptive statistics and weighted multiple logistic regressions were conducted to assess age-related differences of risk and protective factors (parent engagement, social relationship influence, future aspirations, and extra curricular engagement) on alcohol and marijuana use.

 

Results: Among 8th graders, 21.2% reported alcohol use in the past year, 6.5% reported marijuana in the past 30 days, and 2.9% reported cigarette use in the past 30 days. Among 10^th graders, 43% reported alcohol use, 16.3% marijuana use, and 5.8% reported cigarette use. Across both grades, White youth reported higher rates of use of all substances compared to Hispanics and Blacks. Logistic regressions controlled for race/ethnicity, gender, region, and socioeconomic status.

Preliminary findings suggest that four risk/protective factors were common across 8^th and 10^th graders: a) aspiring to graduate from college was associated with significantly lower alcohol and marijuana use, b) aspiring to join the armed forces was associated with significantly higher use of all substances, c) having friends who did not use marijuana was associated with significantly lower marijuana use, and d) high parental engagement (compared to moderate, low, and no engagement) was associated with significantly lower marijuana use.

 Additionally, for 8^th graders only, high parental engagement (compared to moderate, low, and no engagement) was associated with significantly lower alcohol use.  For 10^th graders only: a) aspiring to graduate from high school was associated with significantly lower marijuana use, b) their significant other disapproval of marijuana use was associated with significantly lower marijuana use, and c) moderate parental engagement (compared to low and no engagement) was associated with significantly lower marijuana use.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that while there may be variation in the influence of risk and protective factors between 8^th and 10^th grade substance use, there are also some commonalities. For example, aspiring to attend college and having friends that do not use marijuana are suggested protective factors across both grades, while the extent of parental engagement (e.g. low, moderate, high) and the influence of significant others varies between the two grades. This study can inform youth programs in tailoring interventions to more efficaciously target the nation’s youth.