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Objective: To identify factors that predict or are correlated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in 10-year-olds. Method: Women and their offspring were followed from the fourth prenatal month through 10 years. There were 636 mother-child pairs at 10 years, a follow-up rate of 83% of the birth cohort. Cognitive, psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental factors were measured at each phase. High depression and anxiety were defined as having a number of symptoms greater than 1 SD above the mean for each measure. These measures were combined to represent high depression and/or anxiety (D/A) at 10 years of age. Results: Predictors from the prenatal period of D/A at 10 years were more maternal depression symptoms, African American race, less social support, greater household density, and prenatal marijuana exposure. From 18 months through 6 years, lower child IQ, child injuries at age 3, and attention problems predicted symptoms of D/A at age 10. Across all study phases, lower child IQ, household density during pregnancy, attention problems, early childhood injuries, and prenatal marijuana exposure predicted D/A. Maternal psychological and sociodemographic factors were not significant in the final model. Conclusions: Factors from gestation and early childhood predict high symptom levels of depression and anxiety at age 10. When gestational exposure, early environmental factors, and child characteristics were considered, maternal depression and socioeconomic status were not significantly associated with early onset D/A. Marijuana exposure during gestation marginally predicted depression/anxiety at age 10. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examined relations among characteristics at ages 3 and 10 years and delinquent behavior at age 10. Findings indicated that race and gender were significant predictors of delinquent behavior at age 10, as were temperament, IQ, and emotional instability at age 3. Psychological status, perceived peer substance use, IQ, and temperament at age 10 correlated with delinquent behavior and were identified as 3 distinct pathways to delinquent behavior. (Author/KB)

A school-based alcohol misuse prevention program had differential effects on students' susceptibility to Peer Pressure, depending on prior experience with alcohol These effects paralleled those on alcohol use and misuse, indicating program effects on use and misuse way mediated by reductions in the rate of increase on susceptibility to peer pressure. Experimental group students with prior unsupervised use of alcohol showed a significantly greater reduction than their controls in the rate of increase in susceptibility to peer pressure, alcohol use, and alcohol misuse. This difference was not found among students without prior unsupervised use of alcohol (J Sch Health. 1992; 62(6):233-237), Goodstat[1] noted that most previous substance abuse prevention studies evaluated the prevention programs without regard to the possibility that prior abstainers may differ from prior users in their response to [...]

Differential Effectiveness of an Elementary School-based Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program Recent studies indicate children are beginning to use alcohol earlier [1] and are drinking more heavily at earlier ages. [2,3] [...]