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Objective: Antisocial behavior (ASB) decreases with age in most of the population; however, excessive alcohol use can inhibit the desistance process. This study investigated whether excessive early drinking might slow a young person's overall pattern of crime desistance compared with that of others ("between-person effects") and whether short-term increases in alcohol consumption might result in short-term increases in ASB ("within-person effects").Method: Frequency of ASB and typical alcohol consumption were assessed repeatedly in young people 15 to 21 years old in a population-based birth cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). Longitudinal trajectories showed ASB decreasing and alcohol use increasing across adolescence, which stabilized in adulthood. The parallel growth model was re-parameterized to simultaneously estimate the person-specific (or "between-person") and time-specific (or "within-person") influences of alcohol on ASB.Results: Typical alcohol consumption by young people 15 years old was positively associated with ASB cross-sectionally and into young adulthood (i.e., there were between-person effects of initial levels of alcohol consumption on initial [b 1.64, standard error 0.21; p < .001] and final [b 0.53, standard error 0.14; p < .001] levels of ASB). Within-person effects also were identified in early adulthood (b 0.06, standard error 0.02; p = .001), showing that when a young person reported consuming more alcohol than normal across the past year, that person also reported engaging in higher than usual levels of ASB.Conclusion: The results are consistent with between- and within-person effects of excessive alcohol use on ASB desistence. Future research should further investigate this relation by investigating pathways into excessive alcohol use and ASB in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Offspring of mothers with depression are a high-risk group for the development of suicide-related behavior. These offspring are therefore a priority for preventive interventions; however, pathways contributing to risk, including specific aspects of offspring psychopathology, remain unclear. The aim of this study was to examine whether offspring symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), disruptive behavior disorder (DBD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and alcohol abuse independently mediate the association between maternal depression and offspring suicide-related behavior. Method Data were used from a population-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Three distinct classes of depression symptoms across the mothers' first 11 years of their child's life were identified (minimal, moderate, chronic-severe). Offspring psychopathology was assessed at age 15 years and suicide-related behavior at age 16 years. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results There was evidence for increased risk of suicidal ideation in offspring of mothers with chronic-severe depression symptoms in comparison to offspring of mothers with minimal symptoms (odds ratio = 3.04, 95% CI = 2.19, 4.21). This association was independently mediated by offspring MDD, GAD, and DBD symptoms. The same mechanisms were found for offspring of mothers with moderate depression symptoms over time. Results were similar for offspring suicide attempt except for additional evidence of an indirect effect through offspring ADHD symptoms. Conclusion Findings highlight that suicide prevention efforts in offspring of mothers with depression should not only be targeted at offspring with MDD; it is also important to consider offspring with other forms of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) is widely used for the assessment of depression in adolescents. The main aim of this study was to examine the concurrent and predictive validity of a composite of four MFQ items related to suicidal ideation using an interview measure of suicidal ideation. A prospective 3-wave high-risk study of offspring of parents with recurrent depression was used including 294 families where children were initially aged 9–17 years. Measures included four parent and child rated MFQ items assessing suicide-related ideation (referred to here as the “MFQ-SI”) and a clinically-defined interview measure of suicidal ideation. A parent–child combined MFQ-SI subscale performed well as a screening tool against the interview measure of suicidal ideation (baseline area under the curve (AUC) (95% CI):0.92 (0.85–1.00)). Longitudinally, this measure showed reasonable predictive validity against future suicidal ideation (AUC (95% CI):0.73 (0.58–0.88)). Lastly, there was evidence that a child-rated MFQ-SI scale performed better than a parent-rated one in detecting concurrent suicidal ideation. Longitudinally, both parent and child scales showed reasonable predictive validity against future suicidal ideation. In summary, a brief screen using four MFQ items related to suicidal ideation performs well in identifying concurrent and future suicidal ideation in high-risk adolescents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A response from the authors of an article on the impact of a history of maternal suicide attempt and the impact of maternal depression on the risk for offspring suicide-related behavior in the 2015 issue is presented.