Psychiatric Symptom Clusters as Risk Factors for Alcohol Use Disorders in Adolescence: A National Study

Few epidemiologic studies have examined a full range of adolescent psychiatric disorders in the general population. The association between psychiatric symptom clusters (PSCs) and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among adolescents is not well understood.

This study draws upon the public-use data from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, including a study sample of 19,430 respondents aged 12 to 17. Logistic regression and exploratory structural equation modeling assess the associations between PSCs and DSM-IV AUDs by gender. The PSCs are based on brief screening scales devised from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Predictive Scales.

Several PSCs were found to be significantly associated with DSM-IV AUDs, including separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder among both genders, and panic disorder and obsessive/ compulsive disorder among females. Consistent with the literature, the analysis of PSCs yields 3 factors identical for both genders-2 internalizing factors (fear and anxiety-misery) and 1 externalizing factor. Adolescents who scored higher on the externalizing factor tended to have higher levels of the AUD factor. Female adolescents who scored higher on the internalizing misery factor and lower on the internalizing fear factor also tended to have higher levels of the AUD factor.

The associations that we found between PSCs and AUDs among adolescents in this study are consistent with those found among adults in other studies, although gender may moderate associations between internalizing PSCs and AUDs. Our findings lend support to previous findings on the developmentally stable associations between disruptive behaviors and AUDs among adolescents as well as adults in the general population.