Can School, Employment, and Romantic Relationship Factors Disrupt Transitions in High-Risk Substance Use Classes from Adolescence to Young Adulthood?

Introduction: The types and amounts of substances used in adolescence is strongly associated with young adult use patterns and negative outcomes (Moss et al., 2014; Nelson et al., 2015). There is also considerable heterogeneity in substance use patterns and the transitions between them (Nelson et al., 2015). However, few studies have examined social-contextual moderators of substance use transitions from adolescence to young adulthood. A better understanding of the extent to which school, employment, and romantic relationships can disrupt high-risk use patterns could inform strategies for substance use prevention and treatment. The current study examines the extent school, employment, and relationship factors can disrupt transitions in high-risk substance use patterns from adolescence to young adulthood.

Method. Data were collected biennially from 662 youth in six assessments across ten years (2003 – 2013). Youth were ages 12 to 18 at baseline (W1; N = 662; 48% male M_age = 15.5, SD = 1.9) and 22 to 29 at the final wave (W6; N = 478; 45% male; M_age = 25.8, SD = 2.0). We used latent transition analysis (LTA) that examined transitions between substance use classes (‘alcohol-dominant,’ ‘co-use of alcohol and marijuana,’ and ‘poly use’). School, employment, and relationship status were used as moderators of substance class use transitions in the LTA.

Results. Few differences were found during adolescence with most of the significant findings occurring in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (i.e., W4 to W6). School, employment, and romantic relationship status disrupted problematic substance use patterns during this time, such that, individuals that indicated entering school, working full-time, or getting married or entering a relationship were more likely to transition to a low-risk substance use class than to remain in the high-risk class.

Conclusions. Findings underscore the importance of school completion, obtaining stable career employment, and getting married and starting a family to reduce high-risk substance use patterns leading into young adulthood. These social-contextual moderators can play a key positive role in the transition to young adulthood. Prevention and intervention efforts should consider the diverse needs of youth and be prepared to provide a wide range of services that include educational opportunities and career development in efforts to reduce high-risk substance use patterns.