Identifying Early Risk Factors for Addiction Later in Life: A Review of Prospective Longitudinal Studies

To review prospective longitudinal studies that have identified risk factors for the development of substance use disorders in adulthood from individual differences during childhood and adolescence.

Risk factors during childhood and adolescence that have been consistently linked to increased risk for addiction include externalizing and internalizing symptoms, early substance use, and environmental influences, such as parental behavior and exposure to traumatic experiences.

Since the etiology of substance use disorders is complex and likely is attributable to many causal pathways, systematic examination of the associations between risk factors will be necessary to understand the mixed findings in the existing literature, to determine which individuals should be targeted for prevention efforts, and to design interventions that address risk factors that are most likely to improve outcomes.