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Prior work has suggested a paradoxical positive relationship between the risk behavior alcohol use and the health behavior exercise, particularly in young adults. Though seldom tested, different theoretical perspectives exist on the mechanisms that may explain the positive relationship. The aims of this study were to test theorized mechanisms of association, including common causes shared by both behaviors (e.g., personality, motives, affective), compensatory processes such as exercising to compensate for calories from alcohol consumption, and methodological confounds (e.g., between vs. within subject effects) in a college sample (N = 132; 56.3% male; 76% Caucasian; M.sub.age = 19.15, SD = 0.99) using a cross-sectional design and time line follow back methods. A positive, between-subjects association between alcohol and exercise was found and explained by exercising to compensate for calories of alcohol consumption, enhancement motives, and physical activity enjoyment. However, we also observed a significant and negative within-subjects association between the two constructs, suggesting that, on a given day, individuals who exercise more tended to drink less. Furthermore, individuals who exercised more during the week tended to have declines in weekend drinking over time. Results suggest a complex relationship between exercise and alcohol use among young adults, and highlight the importance of distinguishing between and within subject processes, as well as the temporal ordering of the two behaviors. Implications are discussed in regard to theory, prevention, and intervention., Author(s): Ana M. Abrantes [sup.1] [sup.2] , Matthew D. Scalco [sup.2] [sup.3] , Sara O'Donnell [sup.3] , Haruka Minami [sup.4] , Jennifer P. Read [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Butler Hospital, [...]

Personality pathology is increasingly conceptualized within hierarchical, dimensional trait models. The Comprehensive Assessment of Traits Relevant to Personality Disorders (CAT-PD) is a pathological-trait measure with potential to improve on currently prevailing instruments because it has wider content coverage; however, its domain-level structure, which is of scientific and clinical interest, is not established. In this study, we investigated the structure and construct validity of the CAT-PD's domain level to facilitate wider use of the measure. We estimated five- and six-factor models with exploratory factor analysis in a pooled sample of eight independent subsamples (N = 3,987) and found that both models fit the data well; each had interpretable factors that were invariant across gender, sample type, and Black/White racial groups; and the factors had good convergent validity with other measures of maladaptive traits, Big Five personality, and interpersonal problems. Our results support the validity of the CAT-PD for assessing multiple levels of the pathological trait hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship has highlighted the importance of understanding relations between hormones, rather than studying hormones in isolation. Considering neuroendocrine coupling, or the coordination of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis hormones over time, is one way to investigate how systems governing stress responsiveness and pubertal development covary during critical periods. To date, however, most work has considered hormone coupling cross‐sectionally. The current study investigated neuroendocrine coupling in a longitudinal sample from the Northeastern United States. Youth (N = 437, 53% male, 90% White) provided saliva samples for analysis of diurnal hormone activity at ages 9 (three samples per day across 3 days) and 12 (one sample per day on the same weekday for 4 weeks). At both timepoints, samples collected 30‐min after waking were assayed for cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone. Multilevel growth modeling was used to determine how levels of morning cortisol changed in tandem with DHEA and testosterone. Morning cortisol–DHEA coupling varied by child sex, as males' cortisol–DHEA diminished over time, especially among pubertally advanced males. Females, in contrast, demonstrated strengthening cortisol–DHEA coupling over time, especially more pubertally advanced females. Morning cortisol–testosterone coupling did not vary by sex or pubertal status, demonstrating strengthening associations between ages 9 and 12. The current findings contribute to the literature on hormone coupling across development and expand this work into an earlier developmental phase than previously investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the equivocal literature on the relationship between internalizing symptoms and early adolescent alcohol use (AU) and AU disorder (AUD), the present study took a developmental perspective to understand how internalizing and externalizing symptoms may operate together in the etiology of AU and AUD. We pit the delayed onset and rapid escalation hypothesis (Hussong et al., 2011) against a synthesis of the dual failure model and the stable co-occurring hypothesis (Capaldi, 1992; Colder et al., 2013, 2018) to test competing developmental pathways to adolescent AU and AUD involving problem behavior, peer delinquency, and early initiation of AU. A latent transactional and mediational framework was used to test pathways to AUD spanning developmental periods before AU initiation (Mage = 11) to early and high risk for AUD (Mage = 14–15 and Mage = 17–18). The results supported three pathways to AUD. The first started with "pure" externalizing symptoms in early childhood and involved multiple mediators, including the subsequent development of co-occurring symptoms and peer delinquency. The second pathway involved stable co-occurring symptoms. Interestingly, chronically elevated pure internalizing symptoms did not figure prominently in pathways to AUD. Selection and socialization effects between early AU and peer delinquency constituted a third pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early identification of treatment needs in incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness has significant implications. Validated assessment instruments to guide treatment are lacking in correctional settings. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the predictive validity of the Level of Care Index (LOCI) in 35 inmates admitted to a specialized treatment unit. The LOCI score was predictive of levels of depressogenic psychopathology and psychological well-being as well as changes in these constructs over time. These results validate the use of the LOCI in a correctional setting and demonstrate the utility of the LOCI to identify treatment trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by developmental ecological and epigenetic theory, the current study examined three aims concerning adolescent marijuana use with a large community sample (N = 755; gender = 53% female) and six annual assessments that spanned 11-18 years of age. First, the natural history of adolescent marijuana use was modeled using a two-part latent growth curve analysis. Second, the validity of the mixtures was examined with a broad array of known correlates of adolescent marijuana use. Third, temperament (e.g., surgency, effortful control, and negative affect) was tested as individual differences that would enter into statistical interactions with peer substance use and prior alcohol and cigarette use to distinguish trajectories of marijuana use. The results suggested that escalations in marijuana usewere observed for some youth who initiated marijuana use early in adolescence. Youth whose marijuana use did escalate substantially (10%) were distinguished on temperament, conduct disorder, peer delinquency, and pubertal development at baseline. Furthermore, hypothesized interactions between surgency and both peer substance use and prior substance use discriminated different patterns of marijuana use. The findings are discussed with respect to strategies for timing and content of preventive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]