Childhood internalizing symptoms are negatively associated with early adolescent alcohol use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The relationship between childhood internalizing problems and early adolescent alcohol use has been infrequently explored and remains unclear.

Methods

We employed growth mixture modeling of internalizing symptoms for a large, population-based sample of U.K. children (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Cohort) to identify trajectories of childhood internalizing symptoms from age 4 through age 11.5. We then examined the relationship between membership in each trajectory and alcohol use in early adolescence (reported at age 13.8).

Results

Overall, children experiencing elevated levels of internalizing symptoms were less likely to use alcohol in early adolescence. This finding held true across all internalizing trajectories; that is, those exhi

SUBMITTER: Edwards AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4047162 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature