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Early life mental health and alcohol use behaviours in adulthood: evidence from prospective data in the UK and the US

Ning, Ke; (2021) Early life mental health and alcohol use behaviours in adulthood: evidence from prospective data in the UK and the US. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

Evidence on the association between early life mental health and alcohol use behaviours in adulthood is inconsistent. This thesis aims to summarise the available evidence in a systematic way, investigate the association from a developmental perspective and examine the co-development of alcohol use and stressful life events. In the systematic review, positive associations between externalising problems and alcohol outcomes were consistently reported, while associations between the internalising domain and alcohol outcomes varied across subtypes. Internalising problems tended to be negatively associated with alcohol consumption but positively with severe outcomes. Depression tended to be positively associated with alcohol outcomes, while no clear association was evident for anxiety. In two British birth cohorts, early life externalising and internalising problems were associated with problematic drinking in mid-adulthood, with externalising being a risk factor and internalising a protective factor. The strength of these associations did not differ by the developmental timing of externalising or internalising problems and cohort but was stronger in males. Mediation analysis indicated that in the UK context, the association between externalising problems and problematic drinking was not via educational attainment. In Michigan Longitudinal Study, three classes of individuals with heterogeneous dual trajectories of alcohol use and stressful life events over adolescence and young adulthood were identified. Two classes were characterised by consistently low levels of stressful life events with one class having a normative increase in alcohol use, while the other had a rapid escalation from ages 14 to 23. The third class had consistently high levels of alcohol use and stressful life events. Utilising prospective longitudinal data, the current thesis emphasises the interplay between externalising and internalising problems regarding their relationships with alcohol use, highlights potential sex differences in these and reveals the contextual role of stressful life events in the development of alcohol use.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: Early life mental health and alcohol use behaviours in adulthood: evidence from prospective data in the UK and the US
Event: UCL (University College London)
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10119627
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