Childhood Alcohol Use as a Robust Predictor of Binge Drinking in Late Adolescence in the Millennium Cohort Study
This presentation will discuss a study that examines whether very early drinking initiation predicts binge drinking in late adolescence by examining prospective, national developmental epidemiological data. The results of preliminary studies indicate that alcohol initiation prior to age 11 predicts binge drinking in late adolescence, net of confounding factors. We believe that these findings support prevention efforts, policies, and programs aimed at delaying alcohol initiation.
Muntasir Masum is a postdoctoral fellow in the Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program working under Jennifer Maggs, professor of human development and family studies; and Jeremy Staff, professor of sociology, criminology, and demography. His research is focused on the measurement of alcohol consumption behavior and adult health and mortality outcomes, understanding the socio-demographic mechanisms of alcohol use among adolescents and subsequent adverse consequences in early adulthood, examining the impacts of heavy alcohol consumption using longitudinal data, and exploring the influence of contextual factors on alcohol consumption behavior across the life course.
Dr. Masum’s postdoctoral training is expanding upon these areas of interest by using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, National Health Interview Survey, and National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. His long-term goal is to bring attention to the severity of the impacts of alcohol use not just in later life, but in early life as well. His broader research agenda is to propose policy recommendations around alcohol consumption behavior and reduce the burden of alcohol-related diseases and deaths.
Understanding Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Etiology of Internalizing Problems and Alcohol Use
This presentation will discuss two studies that use different types of genetically informed designs to examine the etiology of internalizing problems and alcohol use in adolescence. The first study uses a parent-offspring adoption design to examine genetic, prenatal, and postnatal environmental influences on early adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms. The second study uses a twin/sibling design to examine the associations among depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and different alcohol use outcomes.
Tong Chen is a fourth-year graduate student in developmental psychology at Penn State. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Tsinghua University, China, in 2018 and her M.S. in Developmental Psychology from Penn State in 2020. Her research is focused on developmental pathways to internalizing problems and alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood. One specific aim is to understand how parent anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with similar problems in children, considering the interplay of genetic, environmental, and pubertal influences. Her research also focuses on how internalizing problems during childhood and adolescence may be related to alcohol use in adolescents and young adults. She is currently working with Drs. Jenae Neiderhiser, Jennifer Maggs, and Ashley Linden-Carmichael through the Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program to examine the internalizing pathway to alcohol use.
