Cedar: Etiological and Prospective Family Study in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Introduction. Prevention research can be extended by analyzing newly available secondary data from the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR).  Data are available on 775 families enrolled in prospective investigations into the etiology of substance use disorder (SUD).  CEDAR began collecting data on families in 1990 and follow-up data collection continues.

Methods. The sampling strategy utilizes a high risk paradigm to elucidate the biobehavioral and environmental factors associated with SUD liability.  The CEDAR sample consists of probands who are men with lifetime presence/absence of SUD (or use of an illicit drug) who have a 10-12 year old biological son or daughter. The biological children of SUD men are assigned to the high average risk (HAR) group whereas offspring of men without SUD, having no axis 1 disorder (“normal”) are assigned to the low average risk (LAR) group. A second control group (Psych control) was also collected, in whom the fathers had a lifetime DSM-III-R diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder not related to substance use. These children are currently in varying stages of follow-up evaluation conducted at ages 12-14, 16, 19, and annually thereafter until age 30. The cohort is 75.5% European American and 21.8% African American. The latter subjects are oversampled (base rate in metropolitan Pittsburgh is < 9%) to accrue a group large enough to be able to validly evaluate differences in drug abuse liability across races.

 Results. Data archived with the National Addiction and HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP) include baseline assessments on each family member.  The instruments were completed by multiple family members for within-family comparisons, and are also administered across time for future longitudinal comparisons.  Data include demographic information, drug and alcohol use, including quantity, frequency, type, and abuse symptoms, drug and alcohol use and psychiatric history, DSM-III-R and DSM-IV diagnoses with GAF, health problems and nursing assessment, temperament, family relationships, personality, and neurological functioning.

 Summary. The innovative study design of CEDAR offers valuable information on a wide range of domains important to conducting prevention research of populations at high risk for substance abuse. The newly available data through NAHDAP offer significant secondary data analysis opportunities for shedding light on substance abuse prevention among youth.