Behavioral inhibition and developmental risk.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
N Z Weinberg
Publications and source records attributed to N Z Weinberg.
Child psychopathology risk factors for drug abuse: overview.
Introduces the special section on Child Psychopathology Risk Factors for Substance Use Disorders. This article summarizes important principles, the current literature, contributions to this section, and issues for future research. Psychopathological conditions are strongly associated with substance use disorders, and some childhood psychopathological conditions may constitute precursors to this comorbidity. Conduct disorder constitutes a strong risk factor for substance use disorders, and bipolar disorder, although more rare, may also constitute a significant risk. Data for other child psychiatric conditions are mixed or lacking; however, important subgroups may be at risk and merit further attention. Underlying characteristics, such as temperament and self-regulation, merit further study as possible explanatory variables. Such studies hold the key for targeting and improving preventive and therapeutic interventions.
Child↗
Adolescent substance abuse: a review of the past 10 years.
OBJECTIVE: To review and synthesize the recent scientific literature on adolescent substance abuse, covering natural history, epidemiology, etiology, comorbidity, assessment, treatment, and prevention, and to highlight areas for future research. METHOD: Studies of adolescent substance abuse were reviewed with the focus on substance abuse and dependence rather than substance use. RESULTS: There has been a sharp recent resurgence in adolescent drug use. Biological factors, including genetic and temperament characteristics, as well as family environment factors, are emerging as important etiological variables. Comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, particularly with conduct disorder, is frequent and complicates treatment. New assessment instruments are available for clinical and research use. Among treatment modalities, family-based interventions have received the most study. CONCLUSIONS: The past decade has seen growth in the volume and sophistication of research on adolescent substance abuse and in the conceptualization of this problem. Further research is needed, particularly on the significance of comorbid conditions and on individualized and effective treatment approaches.
Adolescent↗
Cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with parental alcohol use.
OBJECTIVE: To review and synthesize the scientific literature on cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with parental alcohol use and to highlight areas for future attention. METHOD: Studies of children of alcoholic parents (generally fathers) and of children prenatally exposed to alcohol were reviewed, focusing on cognitive and behavioral findings. Relevant animal studies were also reviewed. RESULTS: Large numbers of children may be affected by parental alcohol use. Prenatal alcohol exposure is frequently associated with specific cognitive and behavioral deficits. Children of alcoholic fathers also can present with difficulties in learning, language, and temperament. Similarities in the deficits of these two groups were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The problems associated with parental alcohol use merit much more clinical and research attention. Current clinical approaches often fail to recognize the diagnostic and therapeutic significance of this history, and subgroups of alcohol-affected children may confound research studies of other problems. Subtle deficits in learning, language, and self-regulation may be the most developmentally devastating and the least likely to be identified and addressed effectively. This is an important area in which to combine behavior genetic and environmental approaches to understanding development.
Adolescent↗
Parental drinking and gender factors in the prediction of early adolescent alcohol use.
This study examines the relationship between children's reports of their parents' drinking patterns, and the child's alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in early adolescence. Subjects were 2,213 fifth and sixth grade students. Data on the child's alcohol use and misuse, and parent alcohol use, were derived from classroom-administered questionnaires. Increased reported level of drinking by mother or by father was significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use among the children; these results held for both boys and girls when examined separately. Examination for possible confounding effects of assortative mating by parental drinking suggests that reports of heavy drinking in either parent increases the risk of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in children. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.
Adolescent↗
Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse.
Reviews research on risk factors for adolescent substance use disorders (SUD) and discusses possible relationships between SUDs and learning disabilities (LD). Individual level factors (genetic, biologic, other familial, and psychiatric) emerge as very important in the risk equation, as well as the interaction between individual risk and environmental conditions. Commonalities between SUD risk and LD include prenatal substance exposure, family history of SUD, conduct disorder, social skills deficits, and academic failure; however, further research is needed to establish whether individuals with LD face a specific risk for SUDs, and if so, what the nature of that risk might be.
Adolescent↗