Effect of comorbid psychologic and somatic symptom trajectories on early onset substance use among U.S. youth in the ABCD study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Adolescent substance use (SU) is often motivated by a desire to alleviate undesirable symptoms. To test the self-medication hypothesis, we examined associations between comorbid psychologic and somatic symptom trajectories across early adolescence and early onset SU.

Methods

Using Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® data, we differentiated youth who reported no SU at baseline based on their comorbid anxiety, depression, pain, somatic and somnolence symptom trajectories. The outcome, early onset SU (by age 13-14 years) was derived from self-reported alcohol (≥full drink), tobacco (full regular/e-cigarette), marijuana, or other drug use over 5 years.

Results

8311 participants were classified with Asymptomatic (27.8 %), Low/stable (39 %), Moderate/pe

SUBMITTER: Voepel-Lewis T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12051135 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature