Browsing by Author "Barton, Allen W."

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    Trajectory classes of cannabis use and heavy drinking among rural African American adolescents: multi-level predictors of class membership
    (Wiley, 2018-08) Barton, Allen W.; Brody, Gene. H.; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Goings, Trenette C.; Kogan, Steven M.; Windle, Michael; Yu, Tianyi; Psychology, School of Science
    AIMS: To inform research on the etiology and prevention of substance use among rural African American youth by (a) identifying developmental trajectory classes of cannabis use and heavy drinking across adolescence and young adulthood and (b) examining associations between trajectory class membership and multi-level assessments of risk factors. DESIGN: A prospective study spanning 9 years with assessments of cannabis use and heavy drinking, the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine, perceived stress and psychosocial risk factors. SETTING: Rural communities in the southeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: African American youth (n = 518). MEASUREMENTS: Participants were assessed for cannabis use and heavy drinking at seven assessments beginning at 16 years of age and continuing to 25 years of age. At age 19, participants provided overnight urine voids that were assayed for catecholamines, a biological marker of life stress resulting from sympathetic nervous system activation. At ages 16 and 19, participants provided information on malleable psychosocial risk factors. FINDINGS: Latent class growth models revealed three distinct trajectory classes for cannabis use and for heavy drinking. Higher levels of circulating stress hormones and perceived stress were associated with classes reporting greater substance use over time (all Ps < 0.05). A composite of selected risk factors discriminated class membership (all Ps < 0.05). Trajectory classes characterized by rapid usage increases in early adulthood exhibited the greatest increase in deviant peer affiliations between ages 16 and 19 years. CONCLUSIONS: Rural African American youth's cannabis use and heavy drinking across adolescence and young adulthood demonstrate distinct developmental courses; a small number of risk factors and measures of biological and perceived stress differentiate class membership prognostically. Variability over time in these measures, specifically an increase in deviant peer affiliation, may help to account for steep increases in young adulthood.
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    Why now? Examining antecedents for substance use initiation among African American adolescents
    (Cambridge, 2020-05) Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Yu, Tianyi; Brody, Gene H.; Banks, Devin E.; Barton, Allen W.; Psychology, School of Science
    Current adolescent substance use risk models have inadequately predicted use for African Americans, with limited knowledge on differential predictability as a function of developmental period. Among a sample of 500 African American youth (ages 11–21), four risk indices (i.e., social, attitudinal, intrapersonal, and racial discrimination) were examined in the prediction of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette initiation during early (ages 11–13), mid (ages 16–18) and late (ages 19–21) adolescence. Results showed that when developmental periods were combined, racial discrimination was the only index that predicted initiation for all three substances. However, when risk models were stratified based on developmental period, variation was found within and across substance types. Results highlight the importance of racial discrimination in understanding substance use initiation among African American youth and the need for tailored interventions based on developmental stage.