Pathways to Problem Drug Use

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of the planned dissertation research is to estimate the degree to which problems of illicit drug use in young adulthood depend upon levels of maternal behavior that hinder attachment with her infant, such as inadequate affection or unresponsiveness to child's needs. Possible causal pathways, including the role of behavior problems in childhood and adolescence, early drug experimentation, deviant peer affiliation, and parent monitoring will be tested as mediators in the pathway from early maternal behavior to adult problem drug use. Potential confounders and moderators of these relationships will be investigated. The subjects are mothers and children who took part in the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Study and the follow-up Pathways to Adulthood study. The studies constitute a longitudinal study of three generations of Baltimore families. The proposed study focuses on Generation 1- mothers enrolled in prenatal care at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1960-1964 =.and Generation 2 (G2) - their children (n=1,758 mother-child pairs). Data collection spanned a 30 year period - from the birth of the G2 children until they reached mean age 30. Data analysis will utilize traditional regression methods, as well as recently developed methods for analyzing causal relationships with longitudinal data, i.e., the methods of generalized estimating equations and marginal structural models. Study findings will guide the improvement of existing programs and should inform the development of new preventive interventions for reducing risks for drug use disorders.