Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116757

Ping Sun, PhD¹, Enrique Ortega, MPH², and C. Anderson Johnson, PhD¹. (1) Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, 1000 S. Fremont Avenue, Unit 8, Alhambra, CA 91803, (2) Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research (IPR), University of Southern California, 1000 S. Fremont Avenue, Unit 8, 523 S. Fremont Ave, Alhambra, CA 91801, 626-281-8511, enriqueo@usc.edu

Extensive evidence exists relating depression, hostility, and stress with alcohol use in youth. However, the independent association of each of these dispositional variables with different levels of alcohol use is still illusive. The baseline youth survey in the China Seven Cities Study were conducted among 11,537 12-17 yr youth (mean+/-sd for age: 14.98 +/- 1.72 Yr, 51.36% female). Hostility, depression, and stress were assessed in validated items from established scales. Three levels of alcohol uses were assessed to express lifetime, moderate use, and heavy use, separately. Cross-sectional associations between different levels of alcohol uses and the three dispositional variables were conducted with logistic regressions. The analysis were adjusted for age, grade, academic performance, puberty, city, and the parental items: education, income, monitoring style, and heavy alcohol use, among others. Depression is the only studied dispositional attributes showing independent and increasing levels of associations with higher level of alcohol use. Compared with non-alcohol drinkers, the OR for each 1sd of depression was 1.131, 1.176, and 1.670 for lifetime, moderate, and heavy alcohol use among girls; and 0.981, 1.034, and 1.431among boys. In males hostility was significantly associated with each level of alcohol use with the strongest association being with heavy alcohol use. Hostility was significantly associated with moderate use and heavy use in females. This study shows that different dispositional attributes had different associations with various levels of alcohol use. Future studies are warranted that can distinguish the directionality of effect between each dispositional attributes and various levels of alcohol uses.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to better assess the interaction of psychopathological problems with alcohol use in youth. The participant will also be able to identify population at particular risk for alcohol use in need of alcohol prevention programs.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.