Study uses diverse sample to examine childhood weight's link to age of first substance use
But the correlation between weight and substance use shows up only when the data are broken down by the subjects' racial or ethnic group and sex. Previous research that didn't take those categories into account found only a weak relationship between childhood weight and substance use. "Childhood weight status and timing of first substance use in an ethnically diverse sample," published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, is the first study to examine the relationship between childhood weight and the timing of first substance use while taking into account the sex and race or ethnicity of the subjects. Authors are Jennifer C. Duckworth and Kelly A. Doran, doctoral students in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology , and Mary Waldron, associate professor in the department. "Early drinking and drug use are associated with increased risk of problem substance use," Duckworth said. "Identifying predictors of early substance use,...