Does stress mediate the development of substance use disorders among youth transitioning to young adulthood?

Abstract

Background: Stress is a well-documented factor in the development of addiction. However, no longitudinal studies to date have assessed the role of stress in mediating the development of substance use disorders (SUD). Our previous results have demonstrated that a measure called Transmissible Liability Index (TLI) assessed during pre-adolescent years serves as a significant predictor of risk for substance use disorder among young adults. However, it remains unclear whether life stress mediates the relationship between TLI and SUD, or whether stress predicts SUD. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study involving 191 male subjects to assess whether life stress mediates the relationship between TLI as assessed at age 10–12 and subsequent development of SUD at age 22, after controlling for other relevant factors. Results: Logistic regression demonstrated that the development of SUD at age 22 was associated with stress at age 19. A path analysis demonstrated that stress at age 19 significantly predicted SUD at age 22. However, stress did not mediate the relationship between the TLI assessed at age 10–12 and SUD in young adulthood. Conclusions and scientific significance: These findings confirm that stress plays a role in the development of SUD, but also shows that stress does not mediate the development of SUD. Further studies are warranted to clarify the role of stress in the etiology of SUD.

• Stress
• substance use disorders
• youth

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (P50 DA05605, R01 DA019142, R01 DA14635, K02 DA017822, K05 DA031248, and the NIDA Clinical Trials Network); from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R21 AA022123, R01 AA015173, R01 AA14357, R01 AA13397, K24 AA15320, and K02 AA000291).