Published online September 1, 2004
PEDIATRICS Vol. 114 No. 3 September 2004, pp. e300-e306 (doi:10.1542/peds.2003-0626-F)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Patton, G. C.
Right arrow Articles by Catalano, R. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Patton, G. C.
Right arrow Articles by Catalano, R. F.
Related Collections
Right arrow Adolescent Medicine

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Puberty and the Onset of Substance Use and Abuse

George C. Patton, MD*, Barbara J. McMorris, PhD{ddagger}, John W. Toumbourou, PhD*, Sheryl A. Hemphill, PhD*, Susan Donath, PhD* and Richard F. Catalano, PhD{ddagger}

* Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
{ddagger} Seattle Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Objective. Substance abuse remains one of the major threats to adolescent health in Western cultures. The study aim was to ascertain the extent of association between pubertal development and early adolescent substance use.

Methods. The design was a cross-sectional survey of 10- to 15-year-old subjects in the states of Washington, United States, and Victoria, Australia. Participants were 5769 students in grades 5, 7, and 9, drawn as a 2-stage cluster sample in each state, and the questionnaire was completed in the school classrooms. The main outcomes of the study were lifetime substance use (tobacco use, having been drunk, or cannabis use), recent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, or cannabis use in the previous month), and substance abuse (daily smoking, any binge drinking, drinking at least weekly, or cannabis use at least weekly).

Results. The odds of lifetime substance use were almost twofold higher (odds ratio [OR]: 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–2.1) in midpuberty (Tanner stage III) and were threefold higher (OR: 3.1; 95% CI: 2.4–4.2) in late puberty (Tanner stage IV/V), after adjustment for age and school grade level. Recent substance use was moderately higher (OR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0–1.9) in midpuberty and more than twofold higher (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.7–3.3) in late puberty. The odds of substance abuse were twofold higher (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2–3.2) in midpuberty and more than threefold higher (OR: 3.5; 95% CI: 2.2–5.4) in late puberty. Reporting most friends as substance users was more likely in the later stages of pubertal development, a relationship that accounted in part for the association found between later pubertal stage and substance abuse.

Conclusions. Pubertal stage was associated with higher rates of substance use and abuse independent of age and school grade level. Early maturers had higher levels of substance use because they entered the risk period at an earlier point than did late maturers. The study findings support prevention strategies and policies that decrease recreational substance use within the peer social group in the early teens.

Key Words: puberty • substance abuse • smoking • alcohol consumption • cannabis • adolescence

Abbreviations: PDS, Pubertal Development Scale • OR, odds ratio • CI, confidence interval

Accepted Mar 22, 2004.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
L. B. Fisher, I. W. Miles, S. B. Austin, C. A. Camargo Jr, and G. A. Colditz
Predictors of Initiation of Alcohol Use Among US Adolescents: Findings From a Prospective Cohort Study
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, October 1, 2007; 161(10): 959 - 966.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Psychosom. Med.Home page
C. H.M. van Jaarsveld, J. A. Fidler, A. E. Simon, and J. Wardle
Persistent Impact of Pubertal Timing on Trends in Smoking, Food Choice, Activity, and Stress in Adolescence
Psychosom Med, October 1, 2007; 69(8): 798 - 806.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Alcohol AlcoholHome page
J. VAN DEN BULCK and K. BEULLENS
TELEVISION AND MUSIC VIDEO EXPOSURE AND ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL USE WHILE GOING OUT
Alcohol Alcohol., May 1, 2005; 40(3): 249 - 253.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]