The Relationship of Emerging Adulthood Trajectories to Drug Use & Other Correlates

Interest in “Emerging Adulthood” (EA) as a unique developmental period has increased. This study examined the heterogeneity of EA among at-risk youth (N=1,677) by identifying trajectories of development across individuals. 

First, an 8-item version of the Inventory of Dimensions of EA (IDEA) measure was tested for factorial invariance across three time points; the 5-item EA measure was found to be factorially invariant. Next, latent class growth modeling identified three unique developmental trajectories. Lastly, classes were compared on demographics and health-risk behaviors. Class 1 represented a large, low-risk class (highest on EA). Classes 2 and 3 were comparably sized (~5% of the sample). Class 2 appears to be a high-risk class that decreases in EA, while Class 3 appears to be a medium-risk class that increases in EA. 

This study confirms that not everyone experiences EA similarly and that continuation high school students do not circumvent EA (move directly to adulthood).

Below:  Estimated and actual sample means and growth trajectories based on final class counts and proportions for the latent class patterns based on estimated posterior probabilities.

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/zo142a

By:  Nadra E. Lisha,1 Adam M. Leventhal,2 Luanne Rohrbach,2 Donna Spruijt-Metz,2 Ping Sun,2 and Steve Sussman2

¹Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, USA

²Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, USA

Correspondencia: Nadra E. Lisha, Ph.D ; Email: moc.liamg@ahsilardan, 530 Parnassus Ave, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California

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