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Racial Differences in the Development of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking from Childhood into Adolescence and Their Relation to Alcohol Use
Author(s) -
Pedersen Sarah L.,
Molina Brooke S. G.,
Belendiuk Katherine A.,
Donovan John E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01797.x
Subject(s) - sensation seeking , impulsivity , psychology , latent growth modeling , personality , african american , demography , alcohol , sensation , medicine , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , neuroscience , biochemistry , ethnology , chemistry , sociology , history
Background Pronounced differences in drinking behavior exist between A frican A mericans and E uropean A mericans. Disinhibited personality characteristics are widely studied risk factors for alcohol use outcomes. Longitudinal studies of children have not examined racial differences in these characteristics and in their rates of change or whether these changes differentially relate to adolescent alcohol use. Methods Latent growth curve modeling was performed on 7 annual waves of data on 447 African A merican and E uropean A merican 8‐ and 10‐year‐old children followed into adolescence as part of the T ween to T een P roject. Both mother and child data were examined. Results European A mericans had higher initial levels of (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and greater growth in sensation seeking (β = 0.16, p < 0.05) compared with A frican A mericans. However, A frican A merican children had higher initial levels of impulsivity compared with E uropean A merican children (β = −0.27 and −0.16, p < 0.01). Higher initial levels of sensation seeking (β = 0.18, p < 0.01) and greater growth in both sensation seeking (β = 0.24, p < 0.01) and impulsivity (β = 0.30 to 0.34, p < 0.01) related to subsequent frequency of alcohol use. The association between race and alcohol use was partially mediated by initial levels of sensation seeking (β = 0.04, p < 0.05; 95% CI: 0.004 to 0.078). Additionally, sharper increases in sensation seeking predicted greater levels of subsequent alcohol use for E uropean A mericans (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) but not for A frican A mericans ( β = −0.15, ns). Conclusions This study revealed different developmental courses and important racial differences for sensation seeking and impulsivity. Findings highlight the possibility that sensation seeking at least partly drives early alcohol use for E uropean A merican but not for A frican A merican adolescents.