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Assesses autonomic reactivity to cognitive stress in ten-year-old boys who had been assigned to either disruptive, anxious or control groups. Socioeconomic status; Familial disadvantages; Aggressiveness of disruptive boys; Autonomic parameters examined.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article on "Characteristics of Methylphenidate in a University Student Sample," by Sean Barrett and others.

Objective: Only a minority of drug and alcohol users develops a substance use disorder. Previous studies suggest that this differential vulnerability commonly reflects a developmental trajectory characterized by diverse externalizing behaviors. In this study, we examined the relation between child and adolescent externalizing behaviors and adolescent substance use in a prospectively followed Canadian birth cohort, accounting for the temporal sequence of a wide variety of contributing factors. Methods: Two hundred and forty-two adolescents followed since birth (date range: 1996 to 2012) were assessed on externalizing behavior (age 17 months to 16 years), alcohol and cannabis use at age 16, age of alcohol use onset, family history of substance use problems, family functioning (age 11 to 15), sensation seeking (age 16), prenatal substance exposure, socioeconomic status (age 1 to 9), and sex. Results: Age of alcohol use onset was predicted by a family history of substance use problems, externalizing traits from ages 6 to 10 and 11 to 16, sensation seeking at age 16, prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure and family functioning at ages 11 to 15. High frequencies of alcohol and cannabis use at age 16 were both predicted by externalizing traits from ages 11 to 16, a family history of substance use problems and sensation seeking after controlling for other individual, environmental and familial variables. The association between familial substance use problems and substance use during adolescence was partially mediated by externalizing traits from age 11 to 16. Conclusions: The present findings provide prospective evidence for a developmental risk pathway for adolescent substance use, potentially identifying those who could benefit from early interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Methylphenidate (MPH) is a prescription stimulant drug with known abuse potential; however, little is known about its patterns of misuse or the characteristics of its abusers.Methods: A sample of 50 university students reporting MPH misuse and 50 control subjects matched for age, sex, and ethnicity completed structured face-to-face interviews about their MPH and other drug use. For each substance ever used, they provided information regarding routes of administration and other substances ever coadministered, as well as details about the most recent administration. MPH users provided additional information about their reasons for use and, in 36 cases, about how they obtained the drug.Results: Relative to control subjects, those who misused MPH were more likely to have used various other prescription and nonprescription stimulant drugs over their lifetime, and most MPH users reported mixing the drug with other psychoactive substances. Of the MPH sample, 70% reported recreational use of the drug, while 30% reported that MPH was used exclusively for study purposes. Relative to those using it exclusively for study, recreational users were more likely to report using MPH intranasally, as well as coadministering MPH with other substances. Most of those who reported their source of MPH obtained it from an acquaintance with a prescription.Conclusions: Those who misuse MPH are more likely than their peers to misuse various other substances, and MPH misuse frequently occurs in the context of simultaneous polydrug use. Because the primary supply of inappropriately used MPH appears to be prescribed users, efforts should be directed toward preventing its diversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigates the drug consumption patterns of a sample of rave attendees in the city of Montreal, Quebec, and seeks to identify the prevalence of 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other drug use in this population.Method: We administered a self-report questionnaire to 210 respondents. For various licit and illicit substances, participants reported their age of first use, number of lifetime uses, and usage in the previous 30 days.Results: We found a significant rank order for the sequence of first use: 1) alcohol, 2) nicotine, 3) cannabis, 4) LSD, 5) psilocybin, 6) amphetamine, 7) cocaine, 8) MDMA, 9) gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), 10) ephedrine, 11) ketamine. Alcohol and cannabis were the most commonly used substances, both in cumulative number of lifetime uses and in usage in the preceding 30 days. MDMA and amphetamine were also notable as the next 2 most popular drugs for use in the preceding 30 days and in terms of those who had tried the drugs at least once. We identified a progressive rank order of experimentation, with early alcohol or cannabis use (or both) associated with the early use of all other drugs tried by more than 25% of the sample. We found MDMA and amphetamine use to be prevalent, as was general experimentation with all drugs studied, other than heroin.Conclusion: Drug consumption levels were substantial in this "rave" population, particularly with respect to recent use of MDMA, amphetamine, cannabis, and alcohol. Results also indicate that the sequence of drug experimentation in this population follows an identifiable pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]